


Atlantis

by J_Antebellum



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Fantasy World, Magic, Original World, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 45,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Antebellum/pseuds/J_Antebellum
Summary: A long time ago, a newborn baby, special in more ways than she suspects, was dropped off at the castle's doors. Twenty-one years later, that baby has become a strong, beautiful lady, who still doesn't suspect just how hard her life is going to turn around. All she knows is that she's the personal guard of the Princess in the Kingdom of Atlantis, a land in the North Atlantic, where nothing is the way it seems, and that if things keep changing the way they're changing, everything she cares about may crumble beneath her eyes.
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger
Comments: 105
Kudos: 138





	1. The newborn

**Chapter 1: The newborn.**

In the middle of a major downpour, a hooded figure ran out of the woods, crossed a narrow road, and then ran up the hill to the cellar's house just at the castle walls. The figure stopped by the small wooden door of the cellar's house and moved their tunic to reveal what they had been shielding from the rain underneath. There was a basket and inside, illuminated by the wall lamp by the door that poured some light into the darkness of the cold night, a little newborn could be seen, wrapped in blankets and whimpering softly.

The baby's eyes opened daringly as the figure left the basket at the feet of the door, as if daring the figure to leave them alone in such a cold, rainy October night.

“Be safe,” the figure whispered, taking a silver necklace with a shark that hung from it, pulling it from a pocket of their tunic and putting it on top of the baby's blankets. “Good luck.”

Without a second look, the figure stepped back and with a gloved hand, knocked repeatedly on the door. When a light turned on through the little fenced window of the door, the figure turned around and ran away down the hill and into the woods. The door opened with a yank and a tall man with a long brown thick coat and tall boots appeared, with a thick brown beard and fiery eyes that looked around.

“What the...” his brown eyes fixed then on the newborn. “Oh no! Tammye! We have a problem!”

**. . .**

_Twenty-one years later._

  
  


A knock on the door opened her blue eyes immediately.

“Ashlyn! Come on, lazy bug!”

The words, although spoken with fierceness and a voice that was almost a deep growl, came, the woman knew, with tenderness and affection. Ashlyn could already smell the bacon and eggs, and didn't need much time to leave her wooden bed and get dressed. In the Kingdom of Atlantis, despite it being in the modern times of 2006, everyone dressed pretty much the same, sometimes in a way that seemed of an older time. But for them, that had pretty cold temperatures most of the year, it was the most convenient way of dressing.

So Ashlyn put on her thickest black trousers, her tallest and thickest socks, and her old, tall brown boots with just a little heel. She was already tall enough as she was. Then came one of her dozens of collarless shirts, which she preferred, her favourite leather jacket, and her thickest, hooded cape. She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a long braid, and then walked out into the small kitchen.

“Good morning!” Ashlyn saluted happily.

“At last! I feared I'd have to eat all the bacon on my own,” her brother, a tall fit man by the name of Christopher, smiled smugly at her from his place around the big round wooden table.

“I wouldn't leave you to such terrible task all on your own brother,” Ashlyn said full of irony, flopping next to him after tossing his hair.

Christopher didn't look much different from his younger sister. His hair was shorter and darker, his beard already fully grown at twenty-four. He wore a jumper underneath a thick jacket, and also had his boots on. But his eyes were dark brown, like their parents', and no one knew why Ashlyn's were hazel, almost green.

“What a wonderful sight,” a big, wide man came into the kitchen, the same voice that had awoken Ashlyn before. His dark eyes looked at the young adults fondly as he scratched his thick beard. “How did you sleep, sweetheart?” he asked, leaning to kiss Ashlyn's cheek.

“Pretty well, father. Where's Mum?”

“She's already busy with the Queen, and you should go and get busy with Princess Alexandra too,” he said, his deep voice softer as he sat down at the table, grabbing a bite of cheese.

The man wasn't fat, despite what it could seem. He was, Ashlyn knew, pure muscle after a lifetime being the Captain of the Kingdom's Guards. And thus, Mike was tall and wide, with fit arms and big hands. His dark hair had some white strands by now, but he remained the strongest man of the kingdom, capable of killing dozens without weapons, just with his bare hands. At the moment, though, he didn't seem dangerous at all; he sat in his chair reading the newspaper, with his favourite corduroy trousers on, his boots, and a plaid shirt that peeked beneath the collar of a thick woollen jumper. His jacket was left on the back of the chair, and his golden wedding band shun with the light coming from the fire.

“Dad, why, again, is Ali forced to marry?” Ashlyn inquired, not for the first time. Mike chuckled. “Am I forced to marry too?”

“Sweetie, Ali's not _forced_. But she's nearing twenty-three now, and she's going to be the Queen one day. A woman in her position will be respected more by the other kingdoms and country leaders if she is seen with someone by her arm. Otherwise, our enemies may see us as weak and attempt to assassinate her.”

“But Ken keeps insisting she meets with suitors, and she doesn't want to! She doesn't want to even befriend one of those snobby bastards who only care about her power and money.”

“The King only insists in hopes that his daughter won't have to face the world alone. If she decides not to marry any of her suitors, she can't be forced.”

“Then Your Majesty should see Ali's never going to face the world alone,” Ashlyn grumbled. “She has _me_.”

“And you're important too, Ash. A Queen needs a best friend as well, but... she can't have the weight of the country alone. And it's not your job to govern. The sooner she gets married, the better, before she turns old and ugly.”

“She's never going to be ugly,” Ashlyn retorted. “Or did Mum turn ugly?” she added under her father's amused glance.

“Your Mum is different. She's one of a kind.”

“Well, so is Ali. Now if you excuse me, gentlemen...”

Ashlyn finished her breakfast, brushed her teeth, put on her thick gloves with full speed, and left their small house to confront the snowstorm outside. At first, the freezing wind hit her so hard she almost fell, but she was too seasoned for that. She stepped firmly in the thick snow, bowed her head against the wind, and went up the hill through the open castle and towards the palace. She was lucky her home wasn't too far from the palace, and it was only a few minutes before she could sigh in relief inside the warmth of the humble palace.

“Look at that,” Ashlyn looked up at the voice and smiled at Christen Press, cousin of the Princess. The angelical-looking lady was just coming down the stairs. “I was wondering when you'll appear.”

“You know I like to be devoted to my breakfast,” Ashlyn chuckled at her and walked to hug her. “Long time no see, Pressy!”

“Damn right! But you know, Christmas.”

“How's America?” Ashlyn asked her. The brunette had been granted a sports scholarship in Stanford University in the United States of America, a country not too far from their own, a few years before. Now she had long graduated, but she had been playing in Atlantis's Women's National Football Team (AWNFT) for months, travelling around the world for the International Northern Games. Her last stop, Ashlyn knew, had been North America.

“It's good,” Christen shrugged. “I missed home already, truth be told. Have you seen Tobs?”

“No, she must be at her place. Make sure to have clean underwear by lunch!” she added as Christen laughed and ran off to look for her girlfriend.

Ashlyn turned and rushed up the stairs, through long carpeted corridors, and finally, she found the Princess' room and she knocked.

“Yeah?” Ali's voice came from the inside.

“Your Majesty the Princess' Guard!”

“Ash! Come in!”

Ashlyn opened the door with a beaming grin and observed as Ali, already fully dressed with her jeans, her boots, and her thickest long coat, stood in the middle of her luxurious room. She had been very evidently organizing her numerous books, judging by the rearrangement of her bookshelf.

“Good morning,” Ashlyn hugged her tightly.

“Uh, you're cold! That explains what took you so long,” Ali squeezed her tight to warm her up. Her fire was already turned off.

Ashlyn grinned and pulled apart to stare at her beautiful tiger brown eyes.

“I ran into Christen as well. She looks good!”

“Yes she does,” Ali chuckled. “We were just talking here, it's a shame you missed it. Ready for another round of suitors before Christmas lunch?”

“Yeah, are you? I believe you have a thrillion dresses waiting for you.” Ashlyn looked at her up and down.

“Forget dresses, it's freezing cold and I don't want to have to get naked and change again when lunch finishes and we go out, and even less, get fancy for some dickhead.”

“Cheer up, this is the last one until January.”

Ali's fierce attitude had gained her the nickname internationally of the Warrior Princess over her entire life. It wasn't like she was trouble or too rebellious; she was actually quite calm and well-behaved, much more than Ashlyn could say of herself. But Ali only did what she deemed fair and just, was strong and wouldn't bow her head unless it was to people she respected, and didn't think everyone was just born to be respected. For her, respect was earned.

The two women walked side-by-side out of the room and a floor below, towards the reception room of the small palace. They walked into a room warmed by the modern heating system and the fireplace, and Ali retired her coat to hang it on the back of the sofa she sat on, with Ashlyn standing nearby. After a couple seconds of silence, Ashlyn spoke.

“Will you ever say yes to any of them?”

“No,” said Ali without a second of hesitation.

“Why not? What if this one is a handsome, strong man, with power and money, someone who makes you laugh and makes you feel safe, who brings love, friendship...? What if he's everything you ever dreamed?”

“Ash, why would I possibly dream of all I've always had? Laughter, money, power, friendship, love, safety...? I've always had those, and of all of those, the only absolutely necessary things have been laughter, love and friendship. The rest, I can do without,” Ali smiled small at her. “I'd only marry someone who can offer me things I've never had, nor been capable of dreaming of.”

Ashlyn allowed herself a moment to sink into her beautiful eyes, feeling her heart skip a beat as she did so, but suddenly the door opened and a suited woman came in.

“Your Majesty, Sir Edward Davis is here.”

“Please let him in, Ann.”

Ali turned her attention to the door, through which came two men in thick long coats that they soon retired, letting snow fall onto the wooden floor. One of them was obviously security, with his dark suit and serious expression. The Kriegers let their guards dress as they liked, as long as the clothes were comfortable for combat and weather, so Ashlyn had only rarely worn such suits, for special occasions. Otherwise she preferred normal attire. The other man was Sir Davis. He was tall and handsome, with blue eyes and brown-blondish hair, light stubble, and a charming smile. Both instantly bowed.

“Your Highness, what an honour to be in your presence,” Sir Edward Davis said.

“I'd rather go by just Ali, Sir,” Ali stood to shake his hand and smile.

“Then please call me just Ed, Ali,” he replied. Ali grinned and nodded.

To be a suitor of the Princess you needed nothing special. You just had to have an University Degree or an equivalent to such, no criminal record, and your family couldn't have been the talk of the country for any negative reason. Ashlyn, who studied the suitors' profiles for security a week in advance, knew Sir Edward Davis was the son of a Royal Air Force pilot and a doctor, that he had attended the National University, and that he had an impeccable historial.

“Ed, please let me introduce you to my personal Guard, Miss Ashlyn Harris,” Ali said, always happy to include Ashlyn in her events. Ed was impressed by this, and looked at Ashlyn with surprise, also offering a hand Ashlyn shook.

“Ma'am, what a pleasure,” he said.

“Hopefully I'll be able to say the same,” said Ashlyn. “Princess, may I bring you drinks?”

“No, thanks Ash. Just sit with me.”

They sat across the men and while the security personnel kept their silence, Ali and Ed chatted for hours with quite ease, laughing at times. Ashlyn had the feeling that Ali was enjoying it, as this meeting was going way better than her normal meetings. They spoke of books, discovering they had common favourite authors, the places they had travelled too, future aspirations, and discovered Ed wanted to be a doctor, like his father.

In the Royal Family you could have any job you wanted, and you were paid exclusively for that job. Ali's father, King Kenneth Krieger, was a personal trainer, Queen Debbie Krieger was a high school P.E. Teacher, and Ali's big brother Kyle was a hairdresser. Ali herself had recently completed a university degree of public relationships and advertisement, but her true dream was of being a footballer. She was also in Atlantis's Women's National Football Team, but an injury had kept her away from it for the past six months, although she was expected to return in spring. In the meantime, she and Ashlyn, whose title, like Ali's, didn't exempt her from having another job, played for Anderwen's Women's Football Club, the capital of the country's main team. Ashlyn also played for the national team, but only when Ali did. Her contract as the Princess' Guard established that no job could keep her far from the Princess, so if the Princess couldn't play internationally, Ashlyn must not go travelling around for national games. She could only play those that happened in Atlantis's Kingdom.

At last, the meeting ended amicably.

“Will I hear more from you?” Ed dared to ask Ali, who smiled.

“As friends, yes, but I do not look forward to marriage, Ed. However's been a pleasure,” as he left, Ali turned to Ashlyn and beamed. “Let's go celebrate Christmas, shall we?”

  
  



	2. Atlantis

**Chapter 2: Atlantis.**

Truth was Atlantis was an odd Kingdom, internationally. While most of the world only understood royalty as an old, antidemocratic thing, Atlantis had evolved into democracy just fine. Each Royal Family was elected every twenty-five years, or changed at any other time if the people voted so. The Royal Family was in charge of international relationships, international agreements, and every other big, important decision, that involved other countries, and they were required to be fluent in at least three languages, have superior studies, remarkable behaviour, and be an example for the people. If at any time their behaviour wasn't good enough, people could vote online in a survey made every new year, using their National Identity Card's number, to hold anticipated elections to change the royal family, which had happened over thirty years before, when Kenneth and Debbie had been elected, and then re-elected through the normal elections every twenty-five years.

To present yourself at the elections you had to either be related to a previous monarch, a president of the government, have studies on a number of different fields (three languages, geography, history, economics and a few others), and have studied the three years of Royal Superior School, an education you could do while or after University and that basically made you an expert on royal duties, although only twenty students could access it every year, the twenty with the best grades in the country who also wanted to. It wasn't required to be married, or for your partner to also become King or Queen, but the requirements withstood for anyone who was to have any of those titles.

Ali had also studied that at the same time as she had done University, because just because your parents had the qualifications to be royals, it didn't mean you did. Ali had to earn it, like her parents did, and if the people supported her, she'd be her parents' successor whenever they choose to retire or the citizens voted them out. Usually, the royal families were liked by the citizens, so it was rare to be voted out. In the over five hundred years since the Kingdom of Atlantis had been born as such (even though it was believed that Native Atlantic civilizations and Celtic civilizations habited the land since at least the fifth century), this had only happened twice. The rest of the time, the common thing was for the position to pass from parents to children, and the Kriegers had actually held the position before, with Ali's great-great-grandmother, whose children hadn't wanted to continue in it. After all, people grew affective with one family. The Royal Family defended the country internationally, supported good causes, were leaders working hard like the rest, and were only paid as royals for the cost of travelling abroad for Royal duties. The palace was rented to them for a modest amount, and all they earned was through their normal jobs, so it was required to have one at least until you reached retirement age and you could then only be a royal, but earn your retirement pension from the job you had retired from. They could not live eccentric lives or abuse power, or they'd be out. And the Kriegers were already known as the best Royal Family Atlantis had ever had, so no one really wanted them out. After all, they were an open book, conceding interviews and always being present at important national events, and the citizens found them accessible and likeable.

Aside from the Royal Family, there were three other big institutions. The Government, with the same requirements as the Royal Family, the Court and the Citizens' Household, and the four institutions worked separately but in collaboration. The Government was elected democratically every four years, unless, like the Royals, the citizens decided their time had come to an end. They organized in parties, and were in charge of all the important decisions concerning the country's territory, under the supervision of the Royal Family. The Court made sure the Law and, mainly, the Constitution, and could judge anyone, even the Royals. And at last, the Citizens' Household was in charge of determining what the people were complaining about the most, what they wanted, what their problems were, and communicating such things to the Government and the Royal Family. The presidency of both the Citizens' Household and the Tribunal was elected democratically and was rotatory.

This way, the country had managed a peaceful life for centuries. Sure, they had their problems now and then, but the citizens were mostly happy and no one wished for a Republic because the Royal Family had so many important duties and such a good reputation that their part in the country wasn't questioned. Debbie and Ken had chosen to be Royals due to the stupidity of the previous Royal Family, that had become an embarrassment for the country. Ken's family had been royal before, and he felt a special sense of responsibility, and Debbie was, like Ali, thirsty for fairness. So they had studied hard and taken control, and ever since, things worked much better. Their families had money due to some businesses of their ancestors, and they could rent the Palace for their safety and their children studied hard to earn scholarships and be good for the country. Kyle wasn't interested in being a Prince, but he respected his family's work and made sure to be Ali's right hand.

“Earth to Ashlyn?” Ali smiled at her best friend, who sat next to her at the family's lunch table during the Christmas lunch. The grand event was the dinner, but the Royal Family was already present, and Ashlyn's parents and brother as well.

While conversation filled the table, Ashlyn had become lost in thought as she ate, which wasn't entirely uncommon.

“Sorry,” Ashlyn smiled at her. “What did I miss?”

“Dad was asking if you've decided a career yet,” Ali explained, pointing to her expectant father with her head. Ken laughed.

“It's okay, we're boring Ashlyn.”

“Not at all!” Ashlyn chuckled. “I'm pretty set on goalkeeping. Or security. I just like what I already do, and when Ali's Queen, it'll be cool to keep following her around like a dog.” She joked, amusing them.

“I'd be happy to have you, don't want to find a new Guard,” Ali said cheerfully.

“So how was today's suitor, Princess?” asked Tammye, Ashlyn's mother. They normally called the Royal Family, who were best friends, by name, but sometimes used titles for amusement factor and teasing.

“He was a wonderful man,” Ali admitted. “But I simply don't wish to marry yet, nor have another boyfriend yet,” Ali had already had one boyfriend, a med student she had dated since being seventeen to her twenty-first mark, when they had amicably broken-up.

“In that case, then we'll stop bringing suitors. A Princess has far more important things to do,” Debbie opined, making Ali squeal.

“For real, Mum?!”

“For real,” Debbie laughed. “Gee, Ali, we told you it'd only be a few guys. And we're people of our word.”

“I love you all!” Ali toasted to them and drank her wine. “Oh my God I've been born again!” they laughed at her.

“Dork,” Ashlyn teased.

“Wait until they make you meet suitors,” Ali teased.

“Oh, I'd love to see that,” Christopher commented across the table. “Another guy slapped with a fish. Yes please.”

They all laughed. Ashlyn had become known back in the city for being a little feisty. One time in their childhood they had been in a excursion at the beach when a bully had come to mess with Ashlyn and call her weirdo or boy, and she had grabbed a rotten fish and slapped him hard with it across the face, slicing his cheek.

After lunch, Ali and Ashlyn were to spend time with their common friends. Because Ashlyn was only fifteen months younger than the Princess, but had gone to University a year early to coincide with Ali -although she had, differently from the Princess, studied Communications and Interpersonal Relationships- as she went to become her personal Guard, they had a solid group of common friends, many of them from football. So after lunch, they went and met with Christen, her girlfriend Tobin, Heather, Abby, Pinoe, Kelley, Pookie, Julie, Sydney, Crystal and Ashlyn's cousin Whitney. All of them were into sports, so they met as always in the inside skate park, because it was too cold and snowy for football, just in the South District of Anderwen. Some brought skates, some brought drinks, others brought guitars, and they all sat to chill and have fun. They had been friends for years, and for them, it was just a normal Christmas Day.

Ashlyn and Ali's friendship, however, was the thickest of them all. Ali literally had as her phone background picture one of them both in the bathtub, Ali holding Ashlyn when Ali had only been a year and a half old, and Ashlyn two months old. They were like sisters, as their parents were best friends and their brothers, of the same age between them and always in the same class, were best friends themselves. The families were just close as knives, and with Ashlyn's father having been in the Special Forces, it had only made sense for Ken and Debbie to offer him the position at the Royal Guards, with a house to move into with his family just within the castle lands, up in the hill around which Anderwen stood. Ashlyn's family, like Ali's, had normal jobs separated from royal duties that only gave them a small extra salary on top of their normal one. Mike Harris was in the Special Forces, a military unit, but with his main tasks being in the castle, he was always up in the hill. Tammye Harris was a sales' rep, but as the Queen's best friend, she hung out with her a lot, although she didn't have any royal title, wasn't a Royal Guard like her husband. Christopher was a countryside man, and he was in charge of the Royal Stable, taking care of the horses the royal family would use. This did constitute as a normal job, so he didn't have any other. And Ashlyn was training to be in the Special Forces too, although she also loved goalkeeping, so for now, she did both. After all, she knew she couldn't be goalkeeper for many years.

“How's the royal life going?” asked Abby teasingly as she refilled a glass of whiskey for Ali, who fancied strong drinks when it was so cold. In Atlantis, it was legal to drink from the age of eighteen, so they had been at it for a few years.

“Pretty normal, considering I have no power to enslave you,” Ali joked, putting an arm around her friend.

Ashlyn was busy skating. Although Ali's security was her responsibility, truth was both women had been training self-defence together since they could walk, so Ashlyn was never too anxious about being there to aid Ali, not that she had ever needed it. With Ali's reputation, no one really dared to go against her. After all, she was quite adored by the citizens, who were big fans, even more since Ali had become a fierce feminist and participated actively in the United Nations' meetings a couple times a year.

So Ashlyn skated freely with some of her friends, and Ali did the public relationships as usual. They made their team work function properly that way.

“Are you ever going to tell her?” Tobin, Ashlyn's other best friend, whispered to her as they picked up their boards to go grab snacks with the rest of the group. They both automatically eyed Ali, who was laughing at Crystal's wild dancing skills.

“What for? She's a Princess. They're only showing her _male_ suitors,” Ashlyn shrugged. “I'll get to spend my life by her side if I play my cards right, I'm not going to risk it.”

“Even if you get your heart broken?”

“She's my heart,” replied Ashlyn. “As long as she's happy, so am I.”

They joined the group, that sat eating snacks and encouraging Crystal, Sydney and Pinoe's dancing, clapping for them.

“You're quite the skater,” Ali whispered as Ashlyn flopped next to her. Ashlyn smiled at her.

“Don't worry, you get to be the best at literally everything else,” she joked, and Ali laughed, squeezing her thigh.

“So are you still learning the Jakie Chan moves?” Pinoe asked Ashlyn as the group trotted towards the castle grounds for their favourite pub, that was just on the other side of the ancient walls. The walls' big doors were always opened except from midnight to six, so the pub was a popular spot around the city.

“Ash's going to be even better than her father,” Ali complimented her. “She's the best guard out there.”

“I do try,” Ashlyn said modestly. “I like my Jakie Chan moves.” The snow had stopped for now, so they only had to brace against the wind and the snow that covered the ground.

“Ugh, I can't wait for a big glass of Ron,” Kelley declared, throwing her long brown hair back. “Or two!”

“I think I'm going for a warm chocolate,” Crystal declared.

“Uhm, I second that!” said Allie Long, 'Pookie', her blonde mane visible just in front of Ashlyn.

They walked by the forest that went from the West Cliffs, extending wide until it cut the City of Anderwen separating the North District from the West District and almost reaching the castle walls. It wasn't a scary forest, and the part that was inside the city was actually a National Park, but they still didn't dare to go into it, because it was so thick, it wasn't hard to get lost. Ashlyn and Ali had adventured into it several times and almost always had gotten lost.

As they bordered the forest, Ashlyn, who was at the back of the group, felt observed and turned to look. She was momentarily petrified as she saw a hooded figure, and could only distinguish eyes so clear they were almost white, fixed on her. Before Ashlyn knew what she was doing, she was walking towards the figure hidden in the verge of the forest, between the large pine trees, as if transfixed. She could hear voices in her head.

“...Come to me...” a raspy weak voice sounded in her head. “Come... You don't belong here... come...”

“Who are you?” Ashlyn asked, standing in front. She could see a face of grey skin, full of wrinkles like creaks in the sand, and a twisted nose. The person smiled, but it was a smile that made Ashlyn feel cold and realize immediately she shouldn't have gotten so close.

But before she could do anything the figure very quickly pressed a cold wrinkly hand with long, boney fingers with long nails against her sternum. At first, Ashlyn thought she had hit her, because it actually hurt a little, but suddenly she felt as if she had been stabbed with ice. She couldn't breathe, and she felt colder and colder inside, but she couldn't move. And then, everything went black.

  
  



	3. The ancient tribes

**Chapter 3: The ancient tribes.**

“Ashlyn!” Ali screamed, turning around to see Ashlyn fall on her knees at the edge of the forest. The others turned too, and they all ran to Ashlyn. “Ashlyn! Ash!” Ali fell on her knees behind the woman, that had slumped to the snow, and rolled her over to see her. Ashlyn had turned pale as a paper sheet, almost grey, with her lips so pale they almost lacked colour altogether, and her eyelashes open, but her eyes rolled back, white. She was shaking and seemed to be muttering something she couldn't understand. “Oh my God, Ashlyn, what's wrong? What's gotten into you?”

“What happened?” Pinoe asked, eyes wide, as she knelt by Ashlyn too, trying to slap her awake. “Ash, dude...”

Ali looked into the forest, but there was nothing there.

“Come on, we need to take her into the palace. Rowan will know what to do.” Ali wrapped Ashlyn's cape closed around the younger woman and took her into her arms, carrying her bride style. “You'll be fine Ash, I'll look after you.” She pressed a kiss against Ashlyn's forehead and was surprised to find it as cold as ice, making her gasp.

They ran up the hill and through the castle grounds into the palace, where they started shouting for Rowan, who was Anderwen's Druid, and lived in the Palace no matter the Royal Family in charge. Rowan was the wisest person in the Kingdom, and came from ancient tribes of Atlantis, being their main healer. Although Atlantis had plenty of hospitals in its cities and towns, no one knew ancient medicine better than Rowan, and only she was capable of curing the most rare and complicated diseases in the country.

“What happened?” Rowan asked, coming in fast towards them, looking at Ashlyn.

“I don't know, she just... she collapsed. By the forest, she went... I don't know why,” Ali looked at her in despair. “What do we do?”

“To her bed, quick.”

The Druid, who was a hundred years old at least but didn't seem older than sixty, rushed to get her medicines and then followed them to Ashlyn's house just by the palace. Tammye opened the door for them and her eyes widened seeing her daughter.

“Oh my, what's happened?” Tammye inquired, letting them in.

“We don't know,” Pinoe explained, and Ali burst into Ashlyn's room and carefully set her in the small double bed, taking her boots off.

Rowan burst right after her.

“Don't worry Tammye, there's yet to be a disease I can't cure,” the woman said calmly, pushing through the group to sit on the edge of the bed, leaving a basket of medicines between her feet. She removed Ashlyn's cape and jacket and opened her shirt while the younger woman made wheezing sounds and seemed to convulse, her head turning from one side to the other while her back arched and she whimpered.

The silver shark necklace was exposed just above her chest, as it always was. Rowan experimentally touched it with one gentle hand, but gasped and quickly pulled her hand away.

“What is it?” Ali asked, concerned, as she climbed on the bed to kneel by Ashlyn in the other side, where the bed was pressed against the wall.

“It burns,” Rowan grumbled, blowing air into her hand.

“Burns?” Tammye frowned, standing by. “But it's just a necklace, and it's freezing cold out there.”

Rowan didn't say anything, but put her basked on the bedside table and from it started pulling herbs and little bottles. She kept Ashlyn's mouth open with one hand to spill the contents of one of the bottles inside and force her to swallow them, and used a lighter to warm little coin-like geometrical metal plaques before putting them all over Ashlyn's chest, somehow without burning her.

“Tammye, turn on the fireplace,” Rowan indicated, and the woman went to the fireplace in the bedroom and did as she was told. The heating was also on, but Rowan always preferred the more 'natural' things.

“Is it one of her illnesses?” Tammye whispered filled with worry, once the fire was on.

“No,” replied Rowan. “This is dark magic. She must've encountered someone in the forest.”

“But there was no one there,” Heather said.

“Yeah,” Ali agreed. “I looked.”

“Not all who look can see,” Rowan said kindly, smiling small at Ali.

She pulled out herbs from her basket, while Ashlyn stopped moving and closed her eyes normally, as if she was just sleeping, only murmuring things no one could understand, for her voice wasn't even as high as a whisper. Rowan smashed the herbs with a mortar she pulled from her basket as well, mixed them with different liquids poured from her little bottles, removed the metal plaques, and with the content of the mortar made a poultice she carefully extended between Ashlyn's breasts, having removed her bra to work freely.

“Tammye, dear, can you prepare hot water?” indicated Rowan.

“Right away.”

Ali watched as Rowan's hands extended in the air hovering over Ashlyn, and the Druid closed her eyes and murmured what she knew to be ancient enchantments and spells. This wasn't the first time she saw her perform her magic. She knew in their country there was good magic and bad magic, but over the centuries, with the ancient prosecutions of the gifted ones, there were less and less people able to produce it, and many who had it would die without knowing because it'd be suppressed inside if it was never encouraged. Ashlyn was always one to get ill quite frequently and in very weird ways, more often when they were little. Kyle and Christopher could remember how frequently Ashlyn would cry and become sick as a baby, and then as a child she seemed to have a delicate health was well, so Ali had seen Rowan treat her dozens of times. Rowan had always said she was special, different. No one knew how or why, but no one ever argued Rowan's wisdom. And as they grew older, Ashlyn seemed to become ill less frequently, until now it was a more rare thing. It was however curious, given that she was also, when healthy, a renowned warrior and fighter, strong and capable of taking down even the fiercest warriors in the annual fighting tournaments, and she never got sick with mundane things such as colds. She had never, in her over two decades of life, had a cold.

“Perfect,” Rowan took the mug of warm water Tammye eventually passed her with a straw inside, and she pulled some herbs inside, creating an herbal tea.

Ashlyn's hazel eyes opened and she took a deep, shaking breath. Some colour had returned to her face, but she still looked sick. Rowan put the mug on the bedside table, letting the whiff of the herbs fill the room, and took Ashlyn's face between her hands.

“What did you see?” Rowan asked her, their faces almost touching. Ali frowned and looked down at Ashlyn's whose eyes fixed on Rowan's.

“Fire,” Ashlyn whispered weakly. “Destruction. Screams.”

“Where?” Rowan inquired then, but Ashlyn shook her head a little.

“I don't know. There was a beach and... cabins, cottages... people were running everywhere... it smelled like... like burned meat...” Rowan pressed her lips together and nodded slowly.

Rowan then let her go and cupped the mug of tea, helping Ashlyn sip it with a straw.

“I'll do that,” Ali offered, and Rowan passed her the mug to hold, letting Ashlyn drink from it slowly while she burned some incense on an incense holder on the bedside table.

“You'll feel stronger after a few hours' of rest, take the day off,” said Rowan, cleaning the poultice off Ashlyn's chest and tucking her in with a thick blanket that was folded at the feet of the bed.

“Was it a witch, Rowan?” Ashlyn inquired with sudden energy, letting the straw escape her lips. Rowan's eyes fixed on her. “Who I saw. Was it one of the bad witches you told us stories about?” When they were younger, Rowan had been their main teacher. She was still there if they needed anything, but in their childhood, they had told them stories of witches and wizards, of the forest's creatures, and the sea ones. They had heard of fairies and vampires, of centaurs and ghosts, but never actually saw any.

“Who did you see?” Rowan asked her.

“I think it was a woman,” Ashlyn said weakly, clearly more tired than she wanted to let them see. “Old. She was so wrinkly her skin seemed about to crack. Her eyes were almost white, even the black of them, like the blind. And she could speak without moving her mouth.”

“Meaning?”

“She spoke in my head,” said Ashlyn. “It was as if she could control me. She told me to go to her, and I couldn't refuse. And then she touched my chest, with iced hands, and I couldn't breathe. It's all I remember.”

“Where was she?” Tammye asked her daughter. “Here in the castle? Out in the street?”

“No,” Ashlyn shook her head. “In the forest. Right at the edge. I felt her watching me, and I looked... it was as if she knew me. She got inside my head. She made me do her will.”

“Well don't fear, Ashlyn,” said Rowan calmly. “I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.”

“You're lying,” Ashlyn snapped, glaring at her with sudden fierceness. “She _controlled_ me. If she had told me to kill Ali, I would've, don't you understand? I could not think. I could not move freely. Even when I wanted to go, I _couldn't_.”

“She was indeed a bad witch,” Rowan sighed. “I didn't really think they were around anymore... and it's not common for them to come close to civilization. But she didn't get what she wanted. She won't come close again, because she knows she cannot get what she wants.”

“What did she want?” Ashlyn inquired then, anxiously.

“She wanted something _from_ you. Witches don't just control people, Ashlyn. They don't bother controlling people because it takes too much energy from them, she's probably as weak now as you are... but she didn't risk getting caught just to play with you. If she wanted to kill Ali, she could do it herself in a breeze. If she could kill you, she would've.”

“So she wanted to kill me?”

“Not with the intention of killing you per se. She identified you as a threat, Ashlyn. She saw something else in you, and wanted to see who you were on her own. I believe she tried to absorb your energy, but it was too much for her. You're a young, strong soul, maybe she just wanted to feed and strengthen herself, but she couldn't, otherwise you'd be dead.”

“How come we didn't see her?” asked Whitney.

“Because a dark witch won't be seen if she doesn't want to. But she can't come out of the forest. She needs the forest's protection to exist. So we're safe.”

“And the things I saw?” Ashlyn asked with a shudder. “Does it mean... is the city going to be attacked?”

“You didn't see the present nor the future,” said Rowan, her dark blue eyes fixed on Ashlyn. “You saw the past. You saw the devastation of an ancient tribe, of the many that used to fill the territory and that the Inquisition burnt to ashes.”

“The ancient tribes? The ones that had all the knowledge you have, Rowan?” Tammye asked her. “The ones who knew magic and the powers of nature and could control the elements?”

“Yeah,” Rowan nodded. “I've seen them too... Ashlyn probably got in the witch's head as she tried to get into Ashlyn.”

“But if they were so powerful, how could the Inquisition burn them?” asked Ali, full of curiosity.

The Inquisition was of their mortal world, came from Europe and accused so many people of witchcraft they were feared worldwide. In Atlantis, in the past full of tribes, they had ended a big chunk of people, until armies from other Northern countries who knew and respected the wisdom of the tribes conquered Atlantis, kicking the Inquisition out and establishing and Kingdom that would protect the tribes and their knowledge. Unfortunately, the tribes had become so mistrustful they went into hiding until no one knew how many were left or where, but her family had protected them every time they had reigned.

“The tribes were, in their majority, peaceful. They couldn't use their power for death,” said Rowan. “Unfortunately, darker tribes joined the Inquisition for power in exchange of killing the more peaceful tribes, and then dark witches and wizards also did. A mortal could never end a tribe alone, that's for sure. In my tribe, I was between the very few who survived, and now we all live normal lives, don't let just anyone know our abilities, but are weakened. For a tribal to stay as powerful, they need the rest of their tribe and their sacred lands... otherwise, powers weaken with generations. I'll go tell the Queen and King, they ought to know what's in the forest... you sleep and whatever you see, don't participate.” She warned Ashlyn, before standing up. Then, she stopped and looked back at the younger woman. “And don't take off that shark. I think it may just be your lucky charm.”

She left as quickly as she had entered, with her basket, and Tammye walked over to her daughter, caressing her chilly face.

“I'm fine, Mum,” Ashlyn assured.

“Like hell you are,” Tammye sighed. “I'll look for your father. You stay in bed, do what Rowan said.”

“I'll take care of her,” Ali said, and Tammye smiled warmly at her.

“I've got no doubt.” Tammye kissed her daughter's head and stood up, leaving. They had mobiles in the city, but the magic of the hill prevented technologies from working very well there, so inside the walls they used owls more often.

“We should leave too, let you rest,” Abby said. “Take care, Harris.” Ashlyn nodded.

“Don't you worry about me. Takes more than a witch to end me.”

Everyone left except Ali, who helped Ashlyn finish her infusion and change into her pyjamas, tucking her in bed and letting her sleep. She dragged a chair to her bedside while the younger woman slept and sat there to guard her dreams.

She wondered if there had come time for the truth. She, her parents, Kyle, Ashlyn's parents and Christopher all knew Ashlyn was not a Harris at heart. Ashlyn didn't know because the adults at the time had decided there was no need of making Ashlyn sad thinking she was unwanted or unloved by her birth family because they had abandoned her as a newborn at the cellar's doorstep, with the luck that Mike and Tammye had been having dinner there with the cellar's family and had taken the baby into their household. Ali could almost remember when the adults had brought the baby to her, telling her they could be best friends now, and she had seen a baby of bright blonde hair, almost white, different from the Harrises, without Tammye having been pregnant of her. The adults had kept telling them, year after year, to never tell Ashlyn anything, to never sadden her with the truth, to always make sure she felt theirs, because she was. Mike and Tammye gave her a name, a life, and took care of her as their daughter, after all.

  
  



	4. One of a kind

**Chapter 4: One of a kind.**

When they were little, Ashlyn was always the weird one. Or at least, the weirdest of them both. It was perhaps the main reason why Ali, as much as she hated lying to Ashlyn, had agreed with not telling her she was an adopted child, abandoned as a newborn in the middle of a rainstorm at the doorstep of a cellar. She figured Ashlyn was bullied enough, messed with enough, called enough things, for her to also have to live with the knowledge that, in fact, they had no idea where she came from, who she really was, or anything. And she knew if the other kids found out they'd only use the information to hurt her further, so why tell?

So when Christopher's arm hair turned dark brown and Ashlyn's was blonde, they pretended Ashlyn had gotten genes from a great-grandparent. When her blonde hair turned dark brown but grew blonde highlights naturally in the strangest of ways, as it grew longer, they pointed it out as a curious trait, trying not to make her feel strange. And when Ashlyn developed imaginary friends no one else could see, they said she had a superpower she could not tell anyone of, because then it wouldn't be special. Then she got her weird illnesses, sometimes even strange dreams, and ran faster than anyone in their class, jumped higher, seemed to have relentless energy and strength when healthy... but again, they made sure Ashlyn didn't feel a weirdo in a bad way. She got to go to university a year earlier than anyone else, she could be special in a good way. And Rowan always recommended they gave her a normal life, until the odd stuff started disappearing slowly. Whether Ashlyn's imaginary friends were ever real, Ali would never know now. But Ali remembered Ashlyn telling her about her friends, how they told her the right ways around the palace when she was lost, or reminded her of tasks she had forgotten, and even told her bedtime stories. She had been jealous at times, but her friendship with Ashlyn was such nothing ever separated them.

“Now you're the one deep in thought,” Ashlyn said hoarsely, waking up and sitting up in bed. Ali smiled small at her.

“I was just wondering how I could get you to stop snoring,” Ali joked, leaning to squeeze her hand, worry flashing in her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

Ashlyn shrugged.

“Better, I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“Well, I no longer feel freezing,” Ashlyn explained. “And I breathe fine now. But that witch... she gave me the worst vibes.”

“You won't see her again. We just have to avoid the forest now,” said Ali firmly. “Do you feel like eating some? I can make you something.”

“Are you kidding?” Ashlyn glanced at her watch. “It's dinner time, and we're already late. Come on, we have Christmas dinner.” She threw her legs out of the bed.

“Hey, you heard Rowan—,”

“Alex, I've rested,” Ashlyn smiled at her, but Ali looked at her, unconvinced. She was still too pale for her liking. “Come on, we'll be in the palace, I'll be sitting down, eating well, and if I feel unwell again, my room is close enough.”

“All right,” Ali gave in with a sigh. “But I take your word.”

Ali helped her find her suit and Ashlyn put it on below a woollen coat, and then both women walked into the palace to Ali's room for her to change. Ashlyn was still feeling under the weather, but the put a brave face and hugged herself while Ali rummaged into her closet for a long-sleeved black winter dress.

“So?” Ali stood, looking for her approval. Ashlyn tried not to let her pupils dilate.

“Beautiful as always, Warrior Princess. Shall we?”

“Yeah,” Ali took her arm and they walked to the dining room, where everyone already sat around a long table. Their family, pretty much.

“Girls, we didn't think you'd come,” Ken looked at them with a grin. “Feeling better, Ash?”

“Much better, thanks,” Ashlyn nodded, pulling Ali's chair back for her to sit. Ali didn't like it when she did so, but Ashlyn always felt a need to show off in front of the Kriegers.

“Merry Christmas everyone,” Ali grinned at them all as she sat.

Even though usually Ashlyn would ravish Christmas dinner, this time she wasn't that hungry, but didn't want for that to show, so she stuck to water and tried to eat with as much enthusiasm as possible.

“We've checked the forest,” Mike told his daughter. “We didn't see anything odd, but Rowan did say we wouldn't see her. It's best you stay away from the forest for a while.”

“Fine by me,” Ashlyn shrugged. “Although she may have bigger plans. I repeat she got in my head, I wasn't in the forest when she spoke to me, she made me come into the forest. For all we know, she could wait until I'm near and...”

“Then don't go near, stay in the castle,” Christopher said easily. “I'll watch over Ali when she has to go out.”

“No,” Ashlyn grumbled. “That's _my_ duty. I'm not going to let some witch lock me in.”

“Well, for now, let's just enjoy Christmas,” said Debbie calmly. “Tomorrow we'll get a plan of action. Rowan's already brainstorming.”

“Speaking of her, why didn't she join us?” inquired Kyle, Ali's big brother.

“She was too anxious about today to come,” said his father. “We'll compensate her.”

After dinner, they went to the tree room to open their presents, and sat around to chill and enjoy them. Ali started her new book, Ashlyn put on the leather bracelet Rowan had made her and played with her new chess with her brother on the floor by the fireplace, with Kyle looking as they played, and the adults chatted.

Suddenly, Ashlyn felt as if the fire was whispering to her. She turned to look at the flames and frowned lightly.

“Go on... you know you want it... you can't escape the power... it's not gonna hurt you... it's yours to have...” the voice whispered in her head.

Ashlyn extended a hand towards the fire.

“What are you doing, crazy one?” Kyle said amused, elbowing her playfully.

But Ashlyn wasn't listening. Before the men could stop her, she had shoved a hand into the fire, not feeling any pain.

“Ashlyn!” Ali screamed.

“Get the hand out, come on!” Christopher pulled her from the fire. “The fuck's wrong with you?!” he grabbed her hand, prepared to see third-degree burns, but found her hand wasn't even warm. “What the...?”

“I didn't burn,” Ashlyn looked at her hand, confused, then back at the fire.

“What?” Tammye came closer.

“I didn't burn,” repeated Ashlyn, showing her hand. “I'm fine.”

“Why did you do that?” Kyle asked with a scowl. “You could've gotten seriously hurt.”

“I don't know... I somehow knew it'd be fine?” Ashlyn shrugged. “Must be Rowan's treatment. Maybe she gave me some skills for a few hours.”

“Well don't do that again,” said Mike, frowning. “I don't want you getting hurt.”

Ashlyn nodded and looked back at the fire. She knew the whispers that came from it couldn't be heard by anyone else. And then suddenly it all clicked in her head, like the pieces of a puzzle that only just started to make sense. She stood up and looked at Mike, suddenly serious, her heart racing with a truth she didn't want to admit.

“Dad, who again gave me this necklace?” Ashlyn asked, holding her shark necklace. Mike looked confused from the sofa.

“The citizens, love. They gifted it to us when you were born.”

“Me? Why not the Princess?” Ashlyn inquired, and Mike shrugged.

“I don't know. Why not you?”

Ashlyn frowned, feeling the necklace in her hand. She had been wearing it since she was six. She remembered getting sick often, until one day that she had been truly sick, with an exceptional fever, Rowan had spoken with her parents, and then Mike had pulled the necklace out of a box in a drawer in their house, and put the necklace on her. The fever had vanished right then. Ashlyn could somehow still remember it, and so could Chris, who had been nine at the time. After that, her illnesses became less frequent and less strong.

 _Lucky charm_. That's what Rowan had said. She hadn't died. She was wearing her necklace. She never took it off because she felt somehow weak when she removed it.

“If the citizens gave it to me, why was it in a box at the house, but you never mentioned it until that time I got so sick?”

Tammye looked confused.

“Sweetie, you were just a baby when you got it, it wasn't safe to give it to you...”

“And you suddenly thought of it when I was sick? And I got well, immediately?” Ashlyn questioned, and saw her parents get nervous, but why? “Rowan said it's my lucky charm. It's not a normal necklace, is it?”

“What would we know?” Mike said with a chuckle. “Maybe someone really good gave it to you. Maybe they put some good magic in it to keep you safe. We should just be grateful, not everything has an explanation, Ash.”

“Mike's right, I'm sure Rowan only said that because of placebo effect. If you believe it's good for you, it will be,” Kenneth intervened.

Ashlyn nodded, thoughtful, and then her eyes locked with Ali's. The brunette seemed nervous all of the sudden and avoided her glance, making Ashlyn frown slightly.

“Ali, you never saw my imaginary friends, did you?”

“Well they were imaginary, Ash,” Ali smiled nervously. “How would I see them?”

“But they couldn't be. They'd tell me the right path to places. They'd give me instructions on things I couldn't possibly know. They'd tell me where someone was if I asked them,” Ashlyn said, remembering her friends perfectly well. Sometimes they were little green creatures in the plants, other times, shiny flying things, tinier than buttons, or sometimes they'd be shapeless, but carry an energy that made Ashlyn unafraid. “How could I possibly make that all up?”

“You've always had a strong imagination,” Tammye smiled small at her. “Oh, you'd invent the most original bed time stories! I'm sure all the things they told you were things you had forgotten you knew. Like when in dreams we get information we had long forgotten.”

“It can't be,” Ashlyn frowned deeper, trying to think more of it through the fog of time that had buried the memories deep in her head. “What about that time Ali fell into a stream and I rescued her? She was alone, no one knew what had happened. And I was all the way in the garden playing football, and I heard my imaginary friends tell me what had happened. Yeah, I remember now...” she focused in the memory. “They told me exactly where Ali was. They told me _how_ to get her out without being carried by the current myself.”

“Nonsense, sweetie,” Tammye said gently. “You had a sixth sense. It is said we can all feel when someone we care about is in trouble.”

“So you felt it when the witch attacked me?” Ashlyn inquired, becoming impatient.

“Well, I guess my sixth sense is not so strong...”

“Or, maybe,” Ashlyn said more roughly. “Maybe I'm just not like you. Maybe I hear things and see things no one else sees or hears. Maybe that witch came to me because she knew I had something else, maybe I touched that fire because it told me it'll be fine—,”

“What are you talking about?” Christopher stood up as well, looking at her. “The fire didn't tell you—,”

“But it did!”

“Stop it, Ashlyn,” Mike said with a hint of anger. “The fire doesn't speak, your imaginary friends were imaginary friends, and that witch was just looking for a good person whose energy to absorb. That's all.”

“Seriously, Dad? You live in a country where magic is normal and tell me fire doesn't speak?” Ashlyn snapped with incredulity.

“Look, if you were a Druid, a witch or a tribal, maybe I'd consider you might have some extra skills, but you aren't,” said Mike. “I know what Rowan does it's really cool, but jealousy won't take you anywhere. You're a fantastic athlete, you don't need anything else.”

“You think I'm jealous? You do know the world rejects weirdos, right? Why would I possibly want to be anything special? To be bullied more than I already was? To be killed for it? To have dark witches come for my neck?” said Ashlyn full of frustration, glaring at him. “I'm a warrior who spoke fluently before the year of age. I ran faster than any kid of my class every single year, I can jump to a tree branch with ease, without anyone teaching me that. You can't do that. Neither can Chris. And I would love to know the heck is up with me that makes dark witches come for my neck because in case you didn't realize, hadn't I had the necklace, I'd probably be dead.” She said angrily. “Should I go ask Rowan instead?”

“Sweetie, calm down,” Tammye said in a pleading tone. “Look, all you are is someone extraordinarily gifted for athletics. There are prodigy kids all over the world, you're just one more, and what a blessed family we are, uh? But it's not why that witch came for you. She came for you because maybe you were more receptive to the extraordinary, because you know Rowan, and because you weren't concentrated in the group's conversation. Wolves pick the stray sheep as well.”

Ashlyn stopped to assume maybe what Tammye was saying was the pure truth of things, maybe that was it. She was specially skilled for some things, just like Ali was very smart, or Christopher had a special touch with horses no one else had. She walked around the room, strolling in thought, trying to ignore the whispers of the fire, and then she saw a photograph of Tammye holding baby Kyle while pregnant with Christopher and she felt like a penny suddenly dropped in her head.

“Mum... why aren't there pictures of you pregnant with me?” she asked with a quiet voice.

“I'm sure there are, love,” Tammye said. “We'll look around.”

“No, there aren't,” Ashlyn assured her. “I've seen them all. Nor ultrasounds. Nor... as a matter of fact, Christopher has a ton of those, but there isn't one of me. Not that I'm envious,” she added quickly. “Just... it's weird, isn't it?”

  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pv1228 brought you this chapter so thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to pv1228 and Captain_Dix because thanks to them, you get this chapter!

**Chapter 5: The truth.**

Hearing the silence, she turned around to look at her family. Ken and Debbie were suddenly supper interested in the newspapers, Kyle and Christopher were playing chess, even though none of them was looking at the chess board, Tammye was pretending to be adjusting her watch, and Mike was redoing her shoelaces. Ali, on the sofa, had hid behind her new book, Ashlyn could tell.

“Ali?” Ashlyn inquired. “What makes you so nervous?”

“Me?” Ali put the book down and smiled at her. “Nothing.”

“Liar!” whispered the fire. “They're lying at you... they know the truth...”

Ashlyn's eyes darted to a photograph hung from the Christmas tree. Christopher, herself, Ali and Kyle sat on a bench, one next to each other, as toddlers. They all had dark hair, and then Ashlyn stood out like an alien, with bright blonde hair and, back then, cyan eyes. Cyan. No one in her family had cyan eyes or blonde hair. Tammye had dirty blonde hair, but pretty dark.

“Oh my God,” Ashlyn realized, feeling her heart racing as she put two and two together. “Oh my God. I'm adopted.”

“What?” Mike rolled eyes. “Ash, don't be ridiculous. I remember perfectly well the day you were born, we were just chilling like this when—,”

“You were sleeping. You said I was born in the middle of the night, that you were sleeping and Mum woke you up,” Ashlyn said, glaring at him. Mike seemed to catch himself, and laughed nervously.

“Well yes, I mean we were chilling like this just before bed, and your mother, she was huge, and—“

“Liar!” Ashlyn roared, and the fireplace's fire erupted, a tongue of fire coming out until it almost reached the chess board. Kyle and Chris gasped and moved away, but Ashlyn felt the flame inside, she felt strong again, felt her hands warm. Mike looked at her, astonished.

“Ash,” Ali stood up carefully, approaching her, “Ash, calm down, you've had a rough day...”

“Did you know?” Ashlyn growled at Ali, who stopped walking right away. “Did you know I'm not their daughter?”

“Ash, I—,” Ali panicked, and she knew Ashlyn had seen and that now, no matter what she said, there was no way of denying it convincingly. So she looked saddened and nodded. “I'm sorry I never said anything, it's just... we thought it'd be best for you... we only lied because we cared—,”

“Cared?!” Ashlyn shouted, scaring her for the first time. “You lied to me, all of you, for twenty-one years, you hid my truth from me, you hid who I am, and you say you cared?! No,” she clenched her jaw, feeling the fury inside, and glared at her parents, who stood up, “you lied because you couldn't stand the idea of having a child you didn't even know where it came from, and a lie a hundred times told becomes a truth, isn't it? The more you lied the more you could pretend your lies were the truth until I didn't feel like such a stranger, right?!”

“Ashlyn, that's it,” Mike came to her, looking serious, a head and a half taller than her. “Look, someone left you in the cellar's doorstep when you were a newborn. We took you into our house and raised like our own. We call you our daughter because we feel you as such, and we never said anything not because we didn't want people to know... but because we know how cruel kids can be, and we didn't want anyone messing with you because you were adopted. That's all. We did it because of love, believe it or not. We don't care if you tell people, it's yours to tell.”

“Exactly, mine,” Ashlyn growled. “And you could've told me. Just me. Instead, you told everyone _but_ me and had your own lying club. Who else knows?!”

“Only us. Only the ones in this room,” Christopher replied. “Sis, we were only told because these people are the king and queen, they had to see if your actual birth family could be found before Mum and Dad decided anything officially... and Kyle, Ali and I were only told because we were older than you. I actually remember the day you came into your lives, Mum and Dad had to explain it, and at first you weren't even presented as my sister. At first, you were a baby someone had abandoned and we had to take care of until we could find your family. But when it became clear that wasn't going to happen... we couldn't just put you in the orphanage. _That's_ when you became my sister, officially. Until then, of course we knew the truth, we tried to help with you. Come on, everyone had the best intentions, everyone did what they thought best for you, and you were bullied enough in school...”

“I'm not saying you should've told my school! I'm saying you should've told _me_! How many times did you swear to me you'd always tell me the truth, Chris? And you?” Ashlyn glared at Ali, her eyes full of tears of anger. “All the times I made questions, and you all shut up. Twenty-one years, as if you didn't have a chance.”

“Sweetie, the more you grew the more we didn't see why to tell you, we thought it'd only hurt you...” Tammye said pleadingly. “Please don't be mad, we love you...”

“I don't care about being adopted. I don't care some dickhead abandoned me,” Ashlyn clenched her jaw. “I care the people I cared my family, the people who heard me ask time and time again about my differences, lied to me. I trusted you, always. And every time I asked why I was blonde and you weren't, why my eyes were blue then hazel, but never brown like yours, why did weird things and Chris didn't.... you lied. You looked at me in the face, and you _lied_. And just a moment ago you,” she glared at Mike, “so happily affirmed I'm no druid, witch or tribal, when the truth is you don't fucking know! And you made my best friend and my brother lie to me!”

Ashlyn shook her head and stomped out of the room. She felt she saw red with fury, she had never been so angry in her life. She felt so betrayed. Who would she trust now? Who was she? What if she was a dark witch, what if that's why she saw the other one, why she could hear the fire?

“Ashlyn wait!” she turned around and saw Ali was running to her, the parents and brothers standing by the door, not knowing what to do.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Ashlyn shouted, and to her surprise, a tongue of fire left her mouth, extinguishing just a metre from her. Ali's eyes widened and she stopped dead in her tracks. Ashlyn could still see smoke in the air and feel her throat warm. “Don't follow me.”

She turned around and stomped out of the palace and into the blizzard outside. Knowing her family would think she had gone to Rowan for answers, Ashlyn decided against that route and rushed out of the castle. She'd find refugee in the city. Curiously, now she didn't feel so cold. She had left her coat inside the house, but she was warm inside, and felt full of strength. The forest screamed at her as she walked down the hill through the narrow black road towards the city. The couldn't make-out what it was saying, but she closed her eyes and ignored it, rushing away. Why was she hearing things again now? She hadn't in years. Why could she touch fire now? Maybe she always could, just never even tried? And why was she spitting fire now? Was she half a dragon? Could that even be?

As the anger passed, it led to exhaustion, emotional exhaustion. She was worn out and tired, and she had been crying the entire way into the city. At last, she flopped on a bench and counted the money she had in her wallet. It should be enough for one night at a bed and breakfast. Ashlyn found one in the East District, and flopped on the bed. She immediately fell asleep, but her dreams weren't easy. She dreamed of screams, tribes on fire, dark hooded people with masks, and terror. When she woke up in the morning with a jolt, her heart was still racing and she didn't feel much rested.

“Great,” Ashlyn rolled eyes and left her bed, examining her suit. She decided she could still wear her suit without dragging attention if she put her bowtie in her pocket and opened her first button to look a little less fancy. After a warm shower and breakfast, Ashlyn left the comfort of the bed and breakfast and checked her watch. It wasn't even seven yet.

Looking up, she saw the National Library, that she knew opened really early. It was the biggest library in the country, four stories tall with bookshelves that reached the tall ceilings. The library in the palace, although huge, was more focused in the books that would be interesting for a ruler, and this one had copies of all of those books anyway. If Ashlyn wanted answers, she was in the right place.

She entered the grey Gothic-looking building and found one of the main librarians, Pierce, who usually had the morning shift. The grey-haired man was reading through bespectacled blue eyes, as always impeccable in his waistcoat.

“Pierce, good morning,” Ashlyn saluted him. She had spent so many hours there growing up, she felt him like a friend.

“Ashlyn!” Pierce looked up and smiled. “What a surprise. What do I owe the pleasure so early on a Tuesday?”

“I wanted to ask you something,” Ashlyn pulled her necklace out from beneath her shirt, where it was normally hidden. She liked to feel the metal against her bare skin. “Have you ever seen a shark like this?”

Pierce leaned to examine it attentively, then raised his eyebrows with interest.

“I believe that's the tribal fire shark.”

“Fire shark?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yes, see these marks? Like flames on the sides? It was a symbol of one of our most ancient tribes of elementalists.”

“elementalists... the tribes that could use the four elements at their advantage? Fire, water, air and earth.”

“Yes and no. You see, it was rare to have control over the four elements. Usually, tribes developed the skills they needed for survival. In the coldest areas, they developed more earth and air, so they could divert the wind, create caves where to stay protected from the storms, create currents of warm air... in the hotter areas, they developed more water and fire, so they could fill rivers in the hot summers, and use fire to warm it up for cooking or for self-defence against the pirates of the south. Some tribes only developed one element, or more one and barely others, some had mixed population. The fire shark, however, was the badge of an ancient clan, at least a couple centuries old, probably more, that habited in the southern beaches. They were mostly fishermen, humble people, sailors... they used the water to help them live and the fire to warm their houses and protect themselves. Legends say sometimes they'd give fire powers to sharks, so they'd protect them from enemy ships and invaders.”

Ashlyn looked at him, fascinated.

“So they could manipulate fire and water as they wanted? Talk to them?

“Yes,” Pierce nodded. “Of course, some tribals were more skilled than others, but... they had a special connection with those elements. Doesn't mean it was just those, only that they were especially those two. They could communicate with the elements, use them to their advantage... and were peaceful.”

“And could they touch fire without burning? Dive in the sea without drowning?”

“I suppose, yeah. I have many books about them, if you're interested.”

“Yes, please. I found this necklace years ago and... I can't help but being very curious.”

“Sure, second floor, east wing.”

“Thanks, Pierce. And if while I'm gone, anyone asks about me... you haven't seen me, okay? I'm a bit pissed off with the royals.” Pierce smiled sympathetically.

“No problem.”

Exactly where Pierce said, Ashlyn found shelves and shelves devoted to the tribes of elementalists. The more she read, the more she felt she had found where she belonged. They were, in fact, older than Pierce had known. The first account of them came from one of the first explorers of Atlantis, who defined the elementalists as a sympathetic tribe who helped them in the coastal beaches and feed them, and that was from the year 1207, eight centuries before. However, it was believed that those tribes, like many others, had always been there. Atlantis' history determined that the modern country they knew had been cemented when explorers from all over the world had mixed with the Natives that had lived there for thousands and thousands of years, and it was believed that all those Natives had magical or supernatural skills and powers. They were druids, sorcerers, witches and wizards, elementarists, warriors, heroes, priests, oracles, elves, ghosts, spirits, giants, dragons, sirens, and all sorts of fascinating creatures, good and bad.

The country admitted they weren't just legends, but reality, a reality that still pushed to exist despite the modern society growing in the same land, and that the laws attempted to protect, although not always successfully, which had led to the conflicts that now made such reality hide, insecure, even when the current rulers swore to protect them. That magic population of Atlantis was, of course, now much smaller than it once was, so it was fascinating for Ashlyn to learn about the times they had thrived without the threats of the modern world, globalization and technologies, and she understood there were some creatures who would want to go back in time and thrive free again, without hiding, without standing the modern things they couldn't understand, because the natives were, at last, so bonded to their land and the nature and the magic in it, that they needn't anything else.

Ashlyn read about their territorial organizations, saw paintings of them, and learned the last account of the tribes was from early in the eighteenth century, when some wars between their neighbouring countries, trying to decide who got Anderwell, ended up scaring the tribes away and, as Rowan had told her, they had gone into hiding. There were some accounts in more modern times, but more like findings of one or two elementalists, not like the whole tribes had re-established. So if Ashlyn came from one, her tribe had to have been hiding for centuries.

At last, Ashlyn had to leave.

“Will I find these at the palace's library?” she asked Pierce, who nodded.

“And more. The palace has a particularly excellent section of history books. Good luck, Ashlyn.”

“Thanks, have a good day.”

During her long stroll back to the palace, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. She understood herself more now. She had to come from that tribe, and her real parents had to be hiding somewhere... maybe they had abandoned her in hopes she'd get a better life, without having to hide. But where were they? And who were they? Had that witch known who she was before herself? And how was she supposed to learn not to set things on fire by mistake, if there was no one to teach her? Maybe Rowan would know.

She stood looking at the edge of the forest, and the trees seemed to whisper at her.

“Ashlyn... Ashlyn...”

“Not today guys,” Ashlyn said. “I have an important job to do.”

Ashlyn took her job as the Princess' Guard very seriously. She returned to her house, finding it empty. The Harrises always raised early for work. Even Tammye, who was on holiday, was probably at the palace helping out. That made things easier. She changed back into normal attire, but didn't put on her cape. Now that she wasn't so cold outside, it wasn't necessary.

  
  


  
  



	6. Strangers like me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna know, can you show me, I wanna know about these strangers like me...

**Chapter 6: Strangers like me.**

She was at Ali's room in a matter of minutes. She was still furious at her, but she decided she could be professional. This was her duty, after all. She knocked on the door and it opened with a yank. Ali appeared in her pyjamas, looked up at her, and jumped into her arms, hugging her tight.

“Ashlyn! I was so worried!” when Ali noticed Ashlyn was stiff and wasn't hugging her back, she separated and searched Ashlyn's warm hazel eyes. But for the first time, she found them cold, distant and unforgiving. Her own eyes filled with tears. “I'm so, so sorry, Ashlyn. I wanted to tell you, every day I wanted to tell you...”

“My trainer always says an intention means nothing if it doesn't lead to action,” Ashlyn murmured. “I could forgive you shutting up when we were kids and you did what the adults said, but you're twenty-two now, Ali. And you still lied to my face. I've never lied to you, not even a little one.”

“I know, I feel terrible, I'm so sorry—,”

“Well I don't give a shit,” Ashlyn said calmly, knowing if she lost her cool, she could set something on fire. Ali was left so speechless, she stared at her, hurt. “What's you being sorry going to help me now, Ali? Why knowing you feel terrible would help me now? _I_ am the one who feels terrible. I've just found out I basically know nothing of myself, I don't know my family, I don't know my home, and the people I've always trusted most, loved most, called family, all had no problem lying to me about the most key things for two decades. How do you think _I_ feel?”

“Betrayed,” Ali murmured, “mistrustful.”

“Add angry. Frustrated. Hurt. Sad. Lost,” Ashlyn shook her head. “If you think I'm so easily going to trust any of you again just because you're sorry...” she laughed dryly and shook her head. “Listen I'm here to do my job. Whatever's left of our friendship can wait. Get dressed, you have a meeting with the Citizens' Household's president in two hours and you haven't even had breakfast yet.”

Ali bowed her head and nodded, starting to dress. Ashlyn turned around to give her privacy, hugging herself and looking down. Sadness and hurt were starting to invade her as she realized how dissociated she felt. How was she going to treat her family now? She surely couldn't call Mike and Tammye parents, could she? _But they are. They took you in. They raised you. They wanted you. They gave you a bed, a home, there was always food on your plate and hugs when you were sad._ Maybe she could call them adoptive parents. Maybe that'd give her a sense of normalcy. But who was she? Who the heck was she? And how could her adoptive family withhold her truth from her for so long, when she was the first one with a right to know? It felt like a conspiracy, everyone knowing but her, creating a world of lies at it suited them, fitting her into a world she wasn't supposed to be a part of. This wasn't supposed to be her life. Like the Truman Show. And what was worst, if they all could lie about something so huge, what else were they lying about? Who could she trust?

“Ashlyn,” Ali appeared in front of her, fully ready, looking cautious.

“Yes. Let's go,” Ashlyn woke herself up, chastising herself internally.

“Before we go, can I have a word with you?”

“What now?” Ashlyn retorted impatiently.

“Look...” Ali bit her lip and then let a long breath out. “Ashlyn, I can't imagine how hard it must be to trust anything I say now, but... please believe me when I say I do care about you, okay? You're my best friend. You're family to me. I know we did something unforgivable and I know you must really be struggling now but... I need you to know we genuinely thought it'd be better if you didn't know. We thought if we told you, you'd only feel more like a stranger or like... like you must be feeling now. And we were so worried you'd fit in, so preoccupied with making sure you felt at home... we made a bad decision. But we did so with the best intentions. It wasn't a selfish decision, I assure you, okay? It wasn't selfish. We just thought you'd be happier with the origins we built for you than with a bunch of questions we cannot answer, and the knowledge that someone abandoned you when you had only just been born, in the middle of a downpour. And I'm deeply sorry we failed you and disappointed you this big, and lied, and... all else. I hope one day, when you're ready, you can forgive us... at least forgive me, because I literally only know you. You're my best friend. Maybe we don't know who your biological parents are or where do you come from... but we know you and I are best friends, we know we always had each other's backs. Maybe you'll feel less like you've lost it all if you hold onto the things you're sure of, and you can be sure we love you. We care. We fucked up, yes, but we're only human. Life doesn't come with a manual telling you what to do if a baby appears in your doorstep. So... just know we love you.”

Ashlyn avoided looking at her and nodded.

“We should go now,” she said then, gruffly. Ali nodded and followed her out.

At the breakfast room things only got more awkward. Instead of sitting with the family, Ashlyn stood firm just by the door without moving an inch for whole half an hour, and only spoke to people using their titles. And she bowed at the king and queen, which she hadn't done in her entire life. She referred to her parents not as Mum and Dad, but as Father and Mother, and to her brother, instead of using Chris, bro, or other antics, she called him Christopher with the most formal tone she could muster.

“You know, Ashlyn,” Christopher said when he finally lost his patience at Ashlyn's brief, formal, excessively distant and excessively polite answers, “I get you're struggling, but this shitshow has to stop. This is your family, period. Whoever birthed you didn't care about you enough to raise you, they abandoned you in a doorstep, on the floor, in the middle of a downpour, in a cold October night. Mum and Dad were so kind and loving they didn't hesitate to bring you home, give you my old baby clothes and made you the woman you've become. They gave you a life where you never had to miss a thing. You should show them some gratitude.”

Ashlyn kept her eyes on the well, doing her best to ignore Christopher altogether and take deep breaths.

“Leave her, Chris,” said Tammye sadly. “We should give her some time and space now. She deserves it.”

“But Mum, she lives in a _castle_ , she's got everything she could ever want in life, she's been welcomed in a _palace_ to serve the most honourable royal family, and she gave them quite the Christmas last night, and now comes and acts up on their face. The woman can't even be professional,” Chris rambled. “And you've done so much for her! Every single time she was ill, every single time she got as much as a scratch... haven't we been a good family, Ashlyn? Haven't I been a good big brother to you? Didn't I always protect you?” he glared frustratedly at Ashlyn, who didn't flinch.

“Stop it, Chris,” Ken said gently. “We're not offended and we shouldn't be. We're family after all, we lied to her, she's perfectly entitled to process things on her own way.”

“Yeah, imagine discovering your entire origins are unknown, son,” Mike pointed out, and glanced at Ashlyn. “We'll be here when you're ready, sweetheart.”

“I'll be outside when you finish, Princess Alexandra,” Ashlyn left the room and closed her eyes, strolling to the window and pressing her forehead against the cold glass, taking deep breaths.

Ali had a busy diplomatic day. After an exhausting meeting downtown, she had another with her parents to discuss what she had learned and start courses of action. Ashlyn waited outside the office, her feet starting to hurt. Then came lunch time, and Ashlyn decided to have her lunch at the kitchens with the other palace workers. Those who hadn't lied to her. Those who she had befriended for real, without lies in-between. And after lunch Ali retired to spend some time with their friends, hanging out at the palace, so Ashlyn refused to join and instead went to the library and spent hours reading about who she assumed were her real family. She had never felt so alone in her life, but as she looked at pictures of the tribals, she didn't feel alone anymore. Her calloused fingers touched over their faces, finding similar traits, the bi-coloured hair, similar jaws and noses, similar eyes... and they were all tall like she was, fit, capable of run faster than anyone, jump onto trees, athletic... the Fireshark tribe really did seem her home.

“How was the song?” Ashlyn whispered to herself as the night fell through the library windows. “ _It all means something yet nothing to me, I can see there's so much to learn..._ ” she murmured to herself. She drummed on the table and looked down at the thick books opened on the desk in front of her. “ _These emotions I never knew of some other world far beyond this place... Beyond the trees, above the clouds, I see before me a new horizon... I wanna know, can you show me? I wanna know about these strangers like me. Tell me more, please show me... Something's familiar about these strangers like me._ ” She fixed her eyes on the page in front of her 'tribes were generally peaceful, but some filled with greed would fight to gain more territory and resources, and rape the women in order to have a new generation of more powerful tribals. Sometimes, scared tribals would join colonialists and dark wizards and witches to devastate other tribes and earn power and favours'. “What happened to you?”

Deciding the moment had come, Ashlyn went up to the tower where Rowan lived, and knocked on the door, waiting patiently. Rowan opened the door.

“I was wondering when you'd come.”

“I'm here.”

Rowan let her in and led her into a circular room where they sat on armchairs in front of a fireplace.

“At first I wasn't sure you were an elementalist,” Rowan commented as she filled Ashlyn a glass of whiskey, pouring another for herself, “I hadn't seen another in so many decades... since I had to flee my tribe. But when you started becoming ill so often, I knew. I understood you were misplaced.”

“Misplaced?”

“When a baby full of power is born, they feed off the power of their parents a little. The magic that surrounds them helps them get stronger.”

“But you filled this place with magic.”

“Yes, but it wasn't enough. You couldn't breastfeed. You refused to eat at first, altogether... the humans that held you and hugged you had no magic, no power... and you weakened. I tried to do my best, I knew I couldn't just tell them, I didn't know them like I do know... for all I knew, they'd burn you or abandon you. I thought of raising you myself, but then I figured no one would be better than a humble, loving family. A home, a brother... I figured you'd be fine.”

“Why did I keep being sick?”

“You caught the odd illnesses of the elementalists. Disconnected from the elements, it seemed like your powers didn't know what to do with themselves, and your system kept fighting them, trying to suppress them. At last, it seemed like you got used to the normal world and things calmed down. And then that witch the other day... you know now, don't you? She was trying to suck your powers, absorb them... you're fire, and without it, you turned cold as ice. Luckily, I was able to restore them.”

“Are you from the Fireshark tribe too?” Ashlyn inquired then, sipping from her drink.

“No. Mine was West-Northerner... in the woods. We did earth mostly, then managed the other elements more or less, but not as much as earth. We were experts in natural medicine, plants, herbs... when the dark witches tried to end us, we all vanished. I'm sure many of them are all right, just... hidden. But that's why I didn't know what your necklace was about for years. I had never seen it.”

“Don't you have one of your tribe?”

“No. They're amulets, not everyone has them. I believe your biological family thought it'd help you live away from your environment, and it certainly did. I didn't realize at first when they got you and I first saw it... but when you got so badly ill with only six years, and we thought you'd die, I found out. And it... I don't quite understand its magic, but I believe they hold a memory of the tribe's power. It helps protect your life, it helps heal you and channel your magic. But after so many years not training magic... it gets suppressed. However when that witch connected with you, she seemed to awake something...”

“Which is why now I'm showing them.”

“I believe so.”

“What's this bracelet you gave me for?” Ashlyn inquired.

“It's made with the same leather your tribe used to make their boots. I think it should serve as extra protection. You're not as powerful as you'd be if you had been raised with your tribe, adults surely can go and be fine, like me... but you need to be nurtured in your nest the first few years. Otherwise, it's harder. But I'll teach you what I know, if you want, and we can discover your power together.”

“I'd love that,” Ashlyn nodded. “Why didn't you tell me the truth?”

“I didn't know how it'd help you,” Rowan looked sadly at her. She wore a brown waistcoat over a dark blouse and a long, dark skirt. “How does it help to know home may be just ashes in some beach? That your entire biological family may be ashes? I thought you were happy, and I wanted to preserve that.”

Ashlyn nodded again.

“It's funny. Everyone always trying for me to not feel out of place... and it's how I've felt the most. Until I've read about the Firesharks at the library... I've never really felt like I belonged. I felt crazy. Hearing things, seeing things, hearing these people say it's all in my mind... it isn't right? You live that too?”

Rowan snorted a laugh and nodded.

“The Elements speak to you. Voices in the air, the nature, forests... you can't help it, but you can control it. You can choose what you want to hear, and push away the rest.”

“Why do they speak so much? What do they want?”

“Nothing, just to attract you. We are elementalists, we're part of the Elements, and they feel completed with us, just like we do. We connect. And they're greedy. But most of the time, they don't speak unless they have something important to say. Warnings, maybe. Have you tried to listen?”

“A fireplace told me to put my hand in the fire.”

“So you could discover what you could do. What else?”

“The forest. Won't shut up.”

“Try to listen next time. I know it can be a headache, but you must learn it. Don't fall into the trance. Don't let it pull you close. We can try together, tomorrow... and you could try meditation. It helps me, it's a controlled way of connecting with the Elements without getting overwhelmed by their force.”

“Great.”

“For now, you must rest. And Ashlyn... try to understand your family, okay? I've seen them raise you. I know their mistakes came from love. Love makes us do terrible, crazy stuff at times.”

“I know... I just... I'm very overwhelmed. Lost. And worried. What if...? What if not knowing all this time kept me from aiding my tribe? What if they're all dead now?”

Rowan sighed and shrugged.

“Knowing doesn't give me the skills to help mine. They found you a safe place, Ash. They knew there was some magic here you could use. They knew this would be better for you. And they'd want you to have a happy life. Don't torment yourself too much, you were just a powerless kid.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I hope you're having some lovely holidays, a very Merry Christmas, and that 2020 is everything you wish it to be. I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support and ask you to please continue to leave comments, even if you don't know what to say or you think you're being silly. I don't bite, and I love to make friends... heck, once I even dated a reader LOL hahaha.
> 
> Much love!
> 
> PD: CAN YOU BELIEVE KRASHLYN ARE MARRIED???!!


	7. Elementalist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I hope you're having some lovely holidays, a very Merry Christmas, and that 2020 is everything you wish it to be. I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support and ask you to please continue to leave comments, even if you don't know what to say or you think you're being silly. I don't bite, and I love to make friends... heck, once I even dated a reader LOL hahaha.
> 
> Much love!

**Chapter 7: Elementalist.**

The more Ashlyn distanced from her people, the more she learned about herself and her hidden powers. She'd wake up earlier than anyone else and meditate for an hour with Rowan in her tower, learning to feel the wind, and the earth, the fire and the water, in the right ways, and learning to listen. She saw her imaginary friends again after a week, and enjoyed talking freely, without feeling like she was going mad. And every evening, she and Rowan would stand in front of the forests and try to make-out something that made sense between the mess of their message. And whenever Ashlyn was free, she'd go up to Rowan's tower and spend hours learning natural medicine, and the healing powers of the elements.

Then there were the dreams. It seemed, according to Rowan, that the tribal memory her shark held was trying to teach her all about their tribe while she slept, which made them more and more certain that a fire had devastated their tribe, but if they could manage fire, it was odd that it would've destroyed them. According to Rowan, she couldn't burn nor drown, and she tried it herself. She sat in a fireplace turned on, her whole body inside, without even feeling hot, and she swam in the river behind the castle without feeling out of breath. She knew she was one with at least, two elements.

But she missed Ali. She missed the friends she now felt detached from, her family she couldn't comfortably maintain a friendly conversation with... even more when New Year's Eve came and she skipped all the celebrations. And after a week and a half, feeling more comforted thanks to Rowan, she decided Friday night hangout would be a nice chance to reconnect. So she showed up at Ali's room one evening, with her favourite blue collarless shirt buttoned entirely and a jumper Ali had gifted her on top, underneath a jacket. She also wore the scarf Ali had gifted her for Christmas.

“Ali,” Ashlyn called knocking on the door. “Open up!”

“One sec! I'm naked!” after a few moments Ali appeared, beautiful with her jeans and coat, ready to go. “Ashlyn...” she smiled sadly seeing the scarf. “It looks good on you. Better even than it did at the store.”

“Oh, don't buy me with flattering, that's more my thing,” Ashlyn side smiled, making sure to sound friendly. “I miss you,” she said at last, looking at Ali, “so... can I join Friday hangout?”

Ali grinned.

“Only if you hug me properly,” Ashlyn immediately squeezed her tight and Ali almost cried, squeezing her back. “I've missed you so much... so much... am I forgiven now?”

Ashlyn shrugged.

“You were just a child,” she said as they pulled away. “Your parents are the King and Queen. You learned to do as you were told and... you trusted them. You trusted what they said to do would really be the best. I can't blame you for that. And after all, even when you knew the truth, you took me as your best friend. You didn't use the truth to bully me or push me aside... I can't just ignore that.”

The brunette could do nothing but hug her again.

“I love you so much Ash. And I promise you, from now on, no more lies ever,” Ali said. “I want to help you know the truth. I've been going to the library and I think maybe it was to do with some tribe...”

“The Firesharks. I know. I was there too,” they exchanged a smile and Ashlyn offered her arm. “We'll have time. Let's go, Princess.”

Ali smiled, grabbing Ashlyn's arm and letting the guard lead her out into the carpeted corridors and out of the castle into Ashlyn's car. Ashlyn drove them down the hill and into the city, where their friends awaited in a popular pub in their neighbourhood. It was a pub they had often visited after soccer in their teens.

“Hey,” Ali said before they left the car, reaching out to grab Ashlyn's hand and lock eyes with her. “How are you really doing?”

“I'm a bit of a mess, but...” Ashlyn shrugged. “Rowan's helping me control myself so... so I don't spit fire,” she chuckled at Ali, who smirked. “You know how you always say you have a duty to your people? That you want to be a Queen because you actually feel you could make a difference?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Well... somehow I feel the same towards my tribe. I know I don't know them, and for all we know all of them could be dead but... they're the only ones who know me. I think they abandoned me because they were in danger and wanted to find me a safe place and everyone knows the hill has magic, which apparently I need. Apparently Elementarists babies can't quite survive in normal ground... that's why I was always sick. There's a lot I'll have to tell you, but there'll be time,” she added when Ali was about to interrupt with questions. “Thing is they knew. They gave me the shark because it's an amulet that helps me keep going with my powers, and they wanted me to be safe, to be okay. They cared. They didn't abandon me because they didn't want me. And as crazy as it sounds... I feel I should find them, Ali. Find them and help them so they don't have to hide. So they're not afraid, with lives at risk because there are still people who want them dead.”

“Why would they want them dead?”

“We can control the elements, Ali. Fire, water, earth, air... in the wrong hands, that power could cause a tsunami and a few tornadoes, earthquakes and fires and vanish this entire country in a minute. I guess some normal people must feel threatened, or want the magic lands where the Elementarists live. My tribe was of fisherpeople, they were at the beach, southerners... it's probably why I'm tanned. They must not have been too white, don't you think?”

“I don't imagine, no.”

“I can suppose powerful people would want them gone to make money with the beaches, the fish my people captured... and my tribe would control the seas to prevent enemy ships from coming, so all the more reason to end them. And then there are the dark witches, who feed from the power of Elementarists to be more powerful. That's what the witch tried to do to me, but she couldn't quite manage because I had the amulet. She could hurt me, a lot, but not succeed 100%. She wanted to suck all me power in, and in the process, she awoke it, when it was suppressed. Which is why until know, I wasn't doing too many weird things.”

“So your imaginary friends weren't imaginary, right? You were talking to...” Ali shrugged. “The environment?”

“The elements around us, yes. They look after those who are good, and when you almost drowned, they let me know. I think I must've parted the water to get you how. That's how both of us ended-up dry. But we were too young to remember much, I suppose.”

“All I remember is one minute I was drowning and the next I was dry and standing by the river with you.”

“Rowan said the abilities may act on their own if my emotions scape my control a little. That day I must've been so terrified they acted on their own, even more if I had no lessons about them, because kids are usually trained by their families to control things and not go mad. And the other day, when I spit fire, or when the fireplace threw out a tongue of fire... I was angry. Now I control it a little better, but still...”

“I won't push your buttons.”

“Yeah,” they exchanged an amused smile.

“So you can control all the elements? How cool!”

“Not all. Rowan says Elementarists have a basic level of control of them all, at least a slight capacity... but they're most attached to some of them, one, two... sometimes more, if bloods mix. She thinks I must descend from someone who was a water Elementarist and someone who was a Fire one. Most of my tribe was a mix, that's why they called themselves Firesharks. They created sharks of fire to defend themselves from pirates, actually.”

“Badass!”

“Yeah. So even though I may do little things with air and earth... I'm in my zone just with water and fire. Blessing and a curse, the more you have the harder it is to control. I didn't even realize until now, but I actually don't need to hold my breath to dive. I always did 'cause it's what you all taught me, but the other day I tried and... I can even avoid getting wet if I want to. I can make fire, like a fucking dragon Al, which is why I'm really trying to keep my cool with Chris and all... I could set the entire palace on fire if I lost my shit.”

“Woah,” Ali whistled in admiration. “It's still badass, Ash.”

“Really? You're not terrified?”

“Terrified? My best friend is half dragon, half shark. I'm mesmerized.”

Ashlyn chuckled at her.

“Come on Princess, let's join our friends before you start finding this sexy,” she joked, and they both laughed and blushed, exiting the car.

An hour later, they had updated their friends on the circumstances and, given the fact that they enjoyed a private room due to Ali's status, their friends had wasted no time to ask Ashlyn to do cool things. Since Ashlyn was eager to see for herself what she could do, she complied, and at the moment she was making Christen's tea, that had gone cold while they chatted, boil. She held a hand over the drink and fixed her eyes in the water in concentration and then, to her own surprise, the liquid started bubbling.

“A-mazing,” Pinoe grinned, completely amazed. “What else can you do?”

“I don't know. I haven't really tried many things, takes energy out,” Ashlyn shrugged. “Rowan does the coolest stuff. I saw her grow a tree the other day— her element is earth.”

“If I could grow trees, I'd create the coolest tree house,” Tobin commented in a dreamy tone.

“Can you make a tsunami?” Kelley asked with excitement.

“Yes, and I'd probably end-up dead from the effort. Rowan says it's dangerous, that only the more powerful, experienced Elementarists should risk it so much. In my tribe, with my age, I would be much more powerful... but since those aren't the circumstances, I'm a newbie. She told me one spends a certain amount of energy when controlling the Elements, and the power has to recharge a little. But I can do small stuff so far. Like...” Ashlyn blew a candle to turn it off and then fixed her eyes attentively on it. She frowned slightly and suddenly the candle lit again.

“I've got the coolest best friend in the world,” Ali declared, grinning. “I'm never eating cold again!”

“As if you ever did, Princess,” Pookie joked. “Can you fill my glass of water Ash?”

“I don't know if it'll be drinkable water, I've never done it, but...” Ashlyn shrugged and stared at Pookie's glass attentively. A few seconds passed and a few drops of water started to appear in the glass. And suddenly, the glass filled fast until it almost overfilled.

“Uhm...” Pookie tasted it and smiled. “As if it just came from the fountain.”

“What happens if you run out of it for the day?” Abby inquired. “Death? You fall asleep?”

“More or less what happened when the witch tried to suck all my power from me, depending on how hard I drain. Could be from slight dizziness to near death.”

“Okay, time to rest it,” Ali declared. “Let's go to the park, and you can tell us what the elements say! That doesn't drain it, right?”

“No, that's good.”

Ashlyn smiled and let them drag her to the park. Her friends weren't easy to scare, and she was so relieved to not be seen as a weirdo they'd marginalize and stop being friends off. As they sat there, it was quiet.

“Nothing?” Whitney asked her.

“Not yet... Rowan says they only talk if they have something important to say,” said Ashlyn. “At least most of the time. The forest is always speaking, but those voices I haven't been able to understand them yet.”

“What do you mean? Don't they speak English?” Crystal inquired.

“Yes, but when they all talk at once, it's hard to make anything out,” Ashlyn explained. “Or when my ear is not too refined. It's not always easy to listen or see what the elements are giving you, sometimes it's really hard... remember they're not humans. They don't have brains. What we hear is basically our brains translating energy into a message we can understand, and that takes a lot of training.”

“But you heard them and saw them all the time when you were little,” Ali pointed out.

“It's different with children. They're more... receptive. I've spent far too many years suppressing it now, but it's just like ghosts, children can see more than adults... and with this, they can also perceive more. Unless you're trained, like Rowan. She literally speaks to the grass.”

“And the animals? Like in Snowhite?” asked Sydney, as they all sat on the grass.

“No, they're not elements,” Ashlyn chuckled. “If I start speaking to deer, I've lost it for good.”

Suddenly, between her friends' voices, she heard a clear whisper.

“...danger... go... Ashlyn, go...!”

Her eyes widened and she looked around frenetically, standing up.

“What is it, Ash?” Ali asked with worry.

“We have to go, I'm being warned,” Ashlyn said. “We have to go, now!”

Her friends immediately stood up and walked with her out of the park.

“Behind you!” came the voice.

Ashlyn spun around and at the end of the narrow, dark street she saw a tall man with a long black coat, pale skin and white eyes. He extended a hand towards her and suddenly she felt her throat constrict, she couldn't breathe, she was being strangled...

“Ashlyn!” Ali shouted, seeing her, but unable to see the dark wizard.

Her voice did something to Ashlyn, who felt the need to save Ali at all costs. So she opened her hands while trying hard to breathe and a large flame appeared from her hands, thrown directly at the wizard, who lost control over Ashlyn and quickly threw his coat over his head, disappearing right before the flames hit where he had stood and disappeared in the air.

“Holly shit!” Tobin said. “Ash dude, you okay?”

“Dark wizard,” Ashlyn gasped, recovering her breath and feeling dizzy already. “You cannot see them. Let's go back to the castle, we'll be safe there.”

They had never reached their cars so fast in their lives.

  
  



	8. Voices

**Chapter 8: Voices.**

“I thought they were bound to the forest. I thought they couldn't come out. You said...” Ashlyn was rambling as they had dinner. They had returned to the palace right in time for dinner, so their friends joined at the table, and so did Rowan.

“I know what I said, I was trying not to terrify you from the start, white lie,” Rowan shrugged, eating her dinner.

“So they can come out?” Ashlyn's eyes widened in terror.

“Put it this way... they're not so different from us. They need magical land to work, which saved your neck this time. In the city, there isn't power enough for them. For you, maybe you get an edge because you feed off the elements, and we have plenty of lakes and rivers and all... not to mention this is an island. But for them, they can't do that. The forest is their strongest place, the forest is full of magic, but it is also a strong place for us, even more for Earth people. You'd be very powerful in a volcano or... the middle of the ocean. He only tried to strangle you but this time, he couldn't lure you close.”

“I didn't hear him.”

“Exactly. You're getting better,” Rowan complimented. “Only we and other magical creatures can see wizards and witches when they don't want to be seen. Otherwise even the normals can.”

“I assume that's us?” inquired Kenneth with his fork mid-air.

“Yes,” Rowan and Ashlyn said at once.

“But we're safe here, right?” said Ali. “With your magic, they can't come up the hill.”

“Not just with my magic... this is sacred land, the top of the hill. Which is why baby dragon here had so many friends as a child, the place is full of magic for eyes that want to see,” Rowan explained. “And that _can_ see, of course. And no magic can undo that. No one decides to create a sacred land they just... already exist. But trained tribals or other special people can sense it and say hey, let's put my house here. That's how tribes are established in their locations. One knows where it's good for them. And whoever birthed Ashlyn, knew. We have no beaches in the city, which would probably be the ideal, but they knew this was sacred land. Dark wizards cannot walk past the walls, dark magic cannot succeed in here.”

“That means there are dark places too, right?” Ashlyn inquired, practically ignoring her dinner. “It has to be both ways, balance and all.”

“Yes,” Rowan nodded in agreement. “Usually places away from the light. The sun has a powerful energy for the beings of light, you see? Shit for the dark forces. But caves, lifeless places like cemeteries... bastards love that shit.”

“What I don't understand,” said Tammye who, like the others, had been updated in the past hour, “is why go for Ashlyn? She's a newbie. You said there are more powerful people... and this is already the second time.”

“In all honesty, I wish I knew,” Rowan sighed. “Their only mission in life is not usually to attack elementalists... they're usually fighting other wizards and witches, light ones. But I can only imagine something is weakening them, and they must be getting desperate... or...” she shrugged. “We should consider why her tribe thought she wasn't safe with them. Maybe there's something about her the dark wizards want. Sometimes it happens, is not that odd.. sometimes they think you're super incredible because of who births you, other times is for some other reason like, some are druids like me, or have sightseeing gifts. The powers... they change a little from person to person. I've never met a Fireshark, so I don't know how above average you are, unfortunately. There's also the possibility that they sense you're an easy catch.”

“I can't protect Ali if they're looking for me, whatever the reason,” Ashlyn sentenced. “So we need to fix this.”

Rowan sat deep in thought and then brushed her long blonde-white hair back with a hand.

“The best solution here is to keep training you. One of those wizards has just seen you can roast them like chicken, I'm sure he's already told the rest, so earn yourself a reputation. If they're scared, they'll leave you be. It's not convenient for them to attack strong elementalists, who could literally screw up their living places. But I'd also see convenient to find whoever left you here twenty-one years ago. Only they know what's the danger that requires for you to be here.”

“Good luck with that,” Ashlyn murmured. “They're probably dead, and if they're alive, they're hiding somewhere.”

“You forget you can communicate with water, which is your tribe's thing. Rain, snow, ocean, rivers... they'll spread the message. But you're going to have to develop some skills really fast. If only we could find another fire elementalist to train you... but they must've gone into hiding completely.”

Kenneth and Debbie exchanged a look and she nodded, so Kenneth spoke.

“We wouldn't mind sending explorers to find them.”

“Better not,” said Rowan. “Fire elementalists are very dangerous. They could roast your explorers if they're scared and, considering that many of them have probably grown out of their environments like Ashlyn in the last few decades, they wouldn't be able to control themselves so much.”

“Very dangerous? But we have one right here,” Christopher pointed to Ashlyn from his corner at the table. “Wait, is it safe for her to even be here? She almost roasted Ali.”

“Don't worry Chris, when someone with way worse ideas than mine comes and tries to make purée with you, I'll make sure not to roast anybody,” said Ashlyn dryly. The tension between them was still palpable.

Christopher glared at her and shook her head, leaving the room. Tammye sighed and looked at Ashlyn.

“I don't see why you guys have to bury a perfectly good relationship, can you please fix things with him?” she asked gently. Ashlyn clenched her jaw for a moment, but nodded.

“I'll talk to him.”

Later that night, Ashlyn curled in her bed, staring at the candle on her bedside table. For a long time, she kept making the flame flicker, disappear, lit again, grow bigger or smaller, but eventually she gave in to exhaustion, and her eyes closed. Then, an odd dream began. First, she saw a cabin made of straw and wood, and a woman with her same hair and bright blue eyes.

“They're coming,” a voice, like a whisper, sounded, as she saw a whole village by a beach turn into chaos, screams everywhere.

“What can we do?” a woman's voice asked.

“Run.”

Ashlyn saw dark figures with torches and silver masks appear at the village in dark manes, and black fire erupted here and there.

“She'll be safe,” a man's voice sounded. “Ashlyn.”

Hazel eyes opened wide and she sat up in bed with raged breathing. The sun was streaming through the curtains, and she wasted no time getting up and ready for the day, running back to the palace and up the long, circular stairwell to Rowan's rooms.

“Rowan!” Ashlyn shouted. “Rowan!” she reached the door and knocked repeatedly until it opened and the woman appeared with a housecoat on and a tired expression.

“I'm not giving lessons until at least nine.”

“It's not that. Rowan, who named me? Ashlyn Michelle, who gave it to me?”

Rowan frowned then shrugged.

“Well, your parents asked me for a name, I tend to be good at those... and the trees whispered Ashlyn, so that's what I said. And I believe Michelle was after your father, Michael. Did you seriously wake me up at five in the morning for this?”

Ashlyn smiled and shook her head.

“My tribe picked Ashlyn for me, Rowan. I think my Dad... my biological one. I dreamed it. He said it, and I guess... the Elements heard, right? They told you that was my name.”

Rowan let a long sigh out and smiled sadly.

“Makes sense. The Elements don't usually go around whispering names to the indecisive ones. You know what Ash means.”

“And Lyn?”

“Well...” Rowan looked thoughtful. “Tribes do have some words of their own and... I believe in some tribal languages, Lyn means daughter.”

“Daughter of ashes,” Ashlyn nodded for herself. “No reference to the water part.”

“It's still a cool name, I think.”

After that, with it being still far too early to find Ali, Ashlyn walked over to the gardens, the snow having melted in patches were the grass could be seen. She ended up at the stables and, to her surprise, Christopher was already hard at work, brushing the horses' manes.

“And here I thought no one was up before the kitchen staff,” Ashlyn commented with a small side smile. Christopher looked at her and turned back to the horses without another word. Ashlyn flopped on a wooden chair and looked at him for a long moment. “I realize I never answered your question. Yes, Chris. You've been an amazing big brother. But this isn't about you.”

“No, it's about your ungrateful ass. You didn't see Mum crying over this, did you?” Ashlyn frowned. “You're so selfish you didn't even stop to consider how Mum and Dad must be feeling with all this cold-shoulder you're giving, after all they've done, all their sacrifices...” Chris dropped a mountain of hay angrily. “Although I suppose there's no reason you should care anymore. Not your real parents, right? We mean nothing to you now.”

“Chris, that's not nearly truth!” Ashlyn hurried to defend herself. “Look, I'm sorry I hurt them, but I was hurting too, okay? This is not easy for me. But of course I still love Mum and Dad and you, you're the only family I've known! And Whitney and the rest are all the cousins, aunts and uncles that I've known too.”

“Then forget about the tribe! If you're being honest, forget about them. Why do you care? They abandoned you!”

“They had no choice,” Ashlyn said.

“There is always a choice.”

“No. Somebody attacked our tribe, Chris. The tribe I was _born_ in. The people I was supposed to call Mum and Dad, and my cousins, perhaps siblings... and my family there brought me here because they knew otherwise I'd be killed too. Do you think it's easy for a mother to abandon their child? To give it up to strangers who won't even understand her abilities, not knowing if they'll marginalize her or kill her the moment they find out she's strange? But my mother did because she had no choice, because she loved me too much to let whoever attacked them take me too.”

“Then why didn't she seek refugee here too? Ken and Debbie would've given it to them.”

“Because they were afraid, I guess,” Ashlyn sighed. “I'll never know. They're dead now, I'm sure. They're all dead. Murdered. For all we know, I may be everything that's left of the Firesharks.”

“But you have a family here. A life. You're the Princess' Personal Guard,” Christopher stared at her, frustrated. “That sure must mean something.”

“It does. But Chris, how would you feel if you stuck out like a sore thumb, and the only people who could explain something about you, make you feel less weird, help you control your skills and know yourself, were dead? I can't ignore I had another family, a tribe... I feel them, Chris. I feel their pain, their despair, every time I dream and see how they died. And I can't ignore that. I can't pretend I don't receive all that information. And a part of me thinks maybe, if any of them are alive, maybe they're waiting for me to show up, and help them.”

“You? Why you?”

“I wish I knew...”

“You're just a kid. Only twenty-one. Barely adult.”

“I know,” Ashlyn sighed and slumped her shoulders. “Look, you have Dad's eyes, Dad's beard, Mum's face. You know you have Grandpa's handwriting, and Grandma's love for horses. That must be comforting, isn't it? I... I don't know anything of myself aside from this life you all built me. I don't know what I'm capable of, my history, my ancestors, or why I was ripped out from my home. And to you, home may just be wherever you live, something that changes as you grow old... but to an elementalist, home is everything. We're attached to the elementalists, and if I never find my zone, my home, I'll always be like a fish out of the water. I was always sick, remember? Cause I don't belong here, Chris. And unlike you, I can't make me belong no matter how much I want to.”

“So are you going to just leave?”

“No. But I think if I could only return to my tribe, just once, maybe I'd never get weird illnesses again. Maybe my energies will just... find the balance? I don't know. Otherwise I'll always be weaker. You saw what those witches can do to me, you heard Rowan, they see me as the easy target. You can't take a shark out of salt water, Chris, and I was ripped out as a newborn when I needed my water the most. I have to find it again. I have to. And I'm sorry if it hurts any of you, but I'll keep being weak and getting sick otherwise, and I can't afford that, and if you love me, you shouldn't want me to live like that.”

Christopher let out a frustrated sigh and scratched his beard, flopping on a pile of hay by Ashlyn's side.

“Look, I'm sorry I'm being difficult but... it's just so strange. One thing is knowing you were adopted, but a very different one is knowing you're...” he gestured vaguely towards her. “Not human?” Ashlyn side smiled.

“I am human. I come from this country's Native Tribes, so...” she shrugged. “I guess we're just humans who developed a special relationship with the land we live in. I don't understand it much better than you.”

“Yeah... not the kind of stuff school taught us,” Christopher admitted. “It's so weird to think there's so much we don't know, that everything Rowan told us tales about is true... fairies, giants and vampires and God knows how much more, right? Just hidden in the confines of our country were normal eyes will not find them and judge them or enslave them. But I am your big brother, Ash, I don't care what DNA says, and I don't want anyone to take you from our family. I don't want some dude to come one day, claiming to be your Dad, and take you from us. And I hate knowing if all those tales were true, then it means there are so many creatures out there, like the dark wizards, who could want to hurt you and against whom I'm nothing but a very ordinary human, and I can't protect you from there. And I was supposed to always be able to protect you, right? Knowing I can't... I just feel so powerless and so... angry. And like somehow I'm failing you.”

Ashlyn looked at her brother attentively for a long moment, as the resentments she had felt towards him started to evaporate, and felt a sudden wave of affection towards him. Of course he had no problems with her being a weirdo. He had problems with _him_ not being a weirdo who could protect his little sister. With his baby sister having enemies he could do anything against.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! Start the year off right by leaving comments please ;)


	9. Bloodbound

**Chapter 9: Bloodbound.**

She couldn't help breaking into a chuckle, at Christopher looked confused at her, from his spot on top of the hay. Ashlyn stood up to sit with him and ruffled his hair as she had done countless of times over their life together. The siblings had fought a ton growing up, but at last they had always remained best friends, even when they fought, and Ashlyn had to admit she had missed him.

“You know, I'll admit I'm a little scared shitless too but... don't worry too much, okay? Because... I've got the best of two worlds, thanks to you all. You've always taken good care of me, and you taught me to climb trees and swim and behave in front of the wild animals of the forest so I'd escape unscratched. You taught me to get into trouble and get myself out. And I'm a big girl now, and you have to trust you've done your part right and I'm ready for whatever's waiting for me,” Ashlyn said at last, after meditating her words for a few moments. “Besides, maybe you can't lit the palace on fire in a moment of anger, but I think everyone is special somehow. The relationship you have with these horses and animals in general is unbelievable, and you understand people, you're empathetic... you have your own special bounds with this land. And you're a tough guy. You know how to shoot, for example, and you're quite a nice driver. Just because you're not an elementalist, it doesn't mean you're useless, Chris. I need you. I need all of you. No one else can play your part.”

“But what if the dark wizards and witches find a way in? Or the vampires? Or the non-dead? Or any of the terrifying creatures of those tales?”

“We'll figure it out. I personally would like to see if witches fancy bullets,” Ashlyn shrugged. “In the end, I'm just Ashlyn, and there's no reason why my life should be too odd. I'm not Harry Potter. There isn't a Dark Lord after my ass. Just greedy people. And in the end, I'm still being trained for the Special Forces, I know how to defend myself if I need to. You breathe and... it'll be fine.”

Christopher nodded and patted her knee gently.

“Still pissed at us?”

“Not so much anymore,” Ashlyn smiled. “I thought I'd have bigger trust issues but... slowly, I think I can trust you all again. After all, there was no malice. You saw an abandoned baby and you decided to become a big brother. I can value that. Although to be completely honest, I'm having huge identity issues.”

“But you know who you are. You're Ashlyn Harris. You're Ali's best friend, you have tasks you adore, you're an excellent goalkeeper... probably because you're a weirdo, but we won't tell,” he smirked with amusement. “Just because you're more than you thought, it doesn't mean you're not what you've become.”

Ashlyn nodded with a small smile.

“I know, it's just... all these years I've always known there was something off about me. My athletics were always too off the chart, and the bullying, the stuff kids said... I've done such a big effort to not pay attention to them, to not think of myself as a weirdo or anything like that, ignore the voices, ignore the things I saw, listen to when Mum and Dad said I just had a strong imagination and lie to myself, tell myself all of that was fake when it wasn't... I've just denied a huge part of myself for so long, suppressed it so long, trying so desperately to fit in... and now it may be too late to undo the damage. And the worst is I can't even find out where I fit, meet others like me, learn from them so I could be like Rowan and have total control of myself and be able to pick my life in the palace without fear of losing control, and I can't, 'cause everyone's dead.”

“But you fit here, Ash, with us... you've got friends, family—,”

“I don't mean I don't feel loved or wanted, Chris. I'm lucky I'm surrounded by people who don't shove me away even knowing what I am. Hell, if I had been raised with my tribe, I probably would've ended up choosing to work for the palace, I always felt that sense of duty, but... not having ever known my birth home... it's like a part of me was ripped out. I fit between my friends, my people... but I don't completely fit in when I'm always going to stand out like a sore thumb. I can't help feeling like... like a clown fish in a river of trout. Always wondering how my native home was, never knowing the reefs and the others that are like me, never quite understanding my abilities or my origins. As much as I love you all, sometimes I wish I could talk to someone like me. Someone who understood what it feels like, someone who could tell me all I don't know, teach me not to spit balls of fire towards my best friends, someone who knew why those witches and wizards are after me and what can I do to help myself... I even learned that we have a whole separate language in which my name, funnily enough, means daughter of ashes.”

Christopher laughed.

“That's pretty convenient.”

“Right?” Ashlyn chuckled. “But no one can teach me that. Rowan just happened to know that one, but she's not going to know it all, our tribes were very different... and we were sailors, but I've never sailed a boat. We lived at the beach, I live at the top of a hill... and I'm never going to get a cold. I'm never going to get the chicken pox, the flu, gastroenteritis... what am I going to get? I don't even know what the tribals can become sick with, but I managed to be sick most of my childhood.”

Christopher wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

“All I know is you're my little sister, and the rest, we'll figure it out, okay? It's not like any of us is born knowing who we are or who we'll grow to be. We are what we decide to be. The less parts of yourself you question, the better you will feel.”

After that, Ashlyn had to hurry to meet Ali. This time she sat with her during breakfast and read the newspaper with normalcy, as if nothing had changed in the past couple of weeks. Then, Ali and herself went to the library to study more about her tribe, and at last, while Ali had some work to do, Ashlyn decided to go on a walk and clear her mind a little, taking advantage of the good weather that was finally breaking through. It hadn't snowed all day, so the snow was starting to melt and it was sunny outside. She zipped her jacket to the top and tightened her scarf , and reached the edge of the forest.

She took a moment to look around. The cellar's house was just across the road in front of the forest, and the forest itself looked welcoming. There were picnic benches and rabbits and squirrels. There was nothing odd. Ashlyn focused once more on the voices emanating from the forest, and at least she heard a clear message.

“We have what you're looking for...”

The voice came like a solid, clear whisper from the forest. Ashlyn scowled but, after a moment of hesitation, stepped into the forest. She walked for a long time without seeing anything out of the ordinary. The forest grew thicker and thicker after twenty minutes, with roots coming out of the land and twisting like spiders. And then suddenly she felt a freezing coldness that made her stop dead on her tracks. She tried to listen to the snow, but it was quiet. Oddly silent. With a bad feeling, Ashlyn turned around and then in front of her, stood a creature.

He was tall and thin, with a long black tunic and a cloak, the hood thrown backwards to reveal long white hair falling straight. The face was covered with a silver mark that vanished to reveal his face. His skin was so white it was almost translucent, slightly greyish and full of lines. What Ashlyn had in the past thought of as creaks or wrinkles now, at the light of day, seemed more like simple black lines. And the eyes had irises and pupils so clear they were almost white. The figure smiled maliciously, revealing lines of sharp, triangular teeth and a snake-like tongue.

“Finally,” he said with a chilling voice that made Ashlyn tremble in actual sudden coldness. She tried to thrown a fireball at him, but he froze it before it could reach it, making it fall like a snowball. Ashlyn went to move and run, but suddenly she found herself surrounded by dozens and dozens of men and women just like him, all looking incredibly similar, with long, sharp faces and long fingers with long nails.

“What do you want?” inquired Ashlyn nervously, spinning around herself to have them all controlled within her eyesight.

“You,” all of the sudden a long hand grabbed her throat from behind, the cold breath against her ear. The hand felt like ice, and the sensation spread towards her insides. The voice sounded like from beyond death.

Then she could no longer see the forest, nor move. Everything got black and quiet. She tried to talk, but her voice didn't sound. Ashlyn had also stopped feeling the hold of her throat, but it got colder and colder, and then those horrible screams filled her eardrums again. And then, she saw them. The woman she had seen before looked so much like her. Next to her stood a tall, wide man, with the hair black and wavy, long to his shoulders, and thick eyebrows. His face, his nose... they were so familiar, so similar to those Ashlyn saw every day in the mirror, even though he had a thick beard with some grey hairs. Both of them held what looked like a bundle of blankets, between which Ashlyn could make little hands, showing that there was a very little baby in each of their arms. They seemed to look in horror behind Ashlyn.

“Quick!” the man told the woman with a grave, but soft voice, holding the baby he was carrying tighter against his chest. “We have to take them, right now! They're not safe here!”

“But what about our tribe?” she asked him with despair. His hazel eyes fixed on her blue ones.

“My love, without our girls they have no hope.”

Ashlyn woke up on her knees on the snow.

“She's the one,” a raspy, feminine voice that didn't seem human declared behind her. “She's bloodbound to them. We'll use her.”

Then Ashlyn found herself wrapped in what seemed like ropes of black ice, and as much as she tried to burn them, to break free, she couldn't. Then her legs moved to where she didn't know, without obeying to her will, and her throat wasn't able to let out a sound. They made her walk outside the forest, and stand before the doors.

“Now, you'll do our will,” one of the men said with a macabre expression, his face inches from Ashlyn. Suddenly, his lips pressed against Ashlyn's and her eyes opened wide as she tasted ice in her throat, to her insides, invading her. She felt as if her soul was being sucked out of her.

“Stop! We'll get to that later. We need her now.” A woman said, and he separated. Ashlyn coughed, recovering her breath, and the man who had kissed her smiled.

And then she couldn't help it. Her hands started to open no matter how hard she tried to clench her fists, there was nothing she could do. Black flames she had never seen before erupted from her hands, gushing forward with unbelievable heat and colliding with an invisible barrier in front of the opened castle doors. People on the other side, inside the castle, saw and screamed, and Ashlyn focused her efforts on attempting to stop, but it was in vain. Her body felt ice cold, but her hands felt scalding hot.

“It's not enough! She's resisting!” another one of the men shouted above the roar of the dark flames. Ashlyn was trying, that's for sure. She focused all her efforts on stopping, and saw the flames become smaller, yet they wouldn't stop.

“It'll work! It'll break!” another woman shouted in response.

“Ashlyn, no!” Ali appeared at the threshold, just behind the barrier, with the beautiful dress and coat she usually wore for important winter meetings. Her parents, brother, and Ashlyn's own, stood with her, alongside Rowan.

“I... can't!” Ashlyn managed to shout, her voice returning.

“They control her now,” she heard Rowan whisper.

“Ashlyn!” Ali held her gaze with fiery eyes. “You need to free yourself or else we're all dead!”

“I'm... trying...” Ashlyn groaned, trying hard to clench her fists close, but it felt like she had a rock in her hands and couldn't close them completely. With a last effort, at last, she did it, and the flames were contained in her hands, the heat becoming unbelievable. Ashlyn clenched her jaw to the pain, seeing the black flames between her fingers.

It was as if her body could not stop producing them, and the more she tried to contain them, the more they threatened with making her implode. The heat started extending up her arms, and started to melt the dark ice around her. Rowan extended her hands then and the ground beneath her feet trembled.

“No!” she heard one of the dark wizards scream. And then the black ice ropes vanished and Ashlyn felt herself become free from the mental hold they had on her, releasing a big flash of flames through her mouth, the flames vanishing in the air before reaching the invisible protective barrier.

Ashlyn sank to her knees, shaking from head to toe, and Ali ran to her, wrapping her in a hug.

“It's okay,” Ali said, hugging her tightly and pressing her lips against her temple. “It's okay.” Ashlyn released a whimper and slumped on her arms, feeling like maybe, it wasn't okay yet.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and comments ;D


	10. Origins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Hoping you're all taking good care of yourselves with this Covid madness. I've ran out of the UK, where I've been living for a few months now, and returned to my hometown to support my family through these difficult times. Now I'm in lockdown ;)
> 
> So anyway, sorry I haven't been around. In the positive side, I'm providing with more time to catch up with my fics and comment, bookmark and leave kudos! Just answering everyone before I updated (I ALWAYS answer everyone). By the way, big THANK YOU!!! to all of you who remember to always support free authors like yours truly and our work! Your comments make my day.
> 
> Also if you want to talk with me, ask when the next chapter pops or whatever, I'm jantebellum in Tumblr, so feel free to message me or send some anon over there!
> 
> Much love xx

“Thank you,” Ashlyn said, accepting a mug of hot herbal tea Ali handed her before sitting next to the younger woman.

They were sitting in Rowan's bedchambers, on a sofa in front of a low table covered with books, notes and scraps of paper. Ali wrapped an arm around her over a blanket, comforting her as they watched Rowan go through her books. Their parents and brothers were also in the room, watching without making questions.

“White eyes...” Rowan murmured under her breath. “Black fire...”

“I thought we agreed they were dark wizards,” said Christopher, sitting on the other side of Ashlyn.

“I thought so, but clearly I was mistaken,” Rowan admitted, opening a thick book that appeared to be handwritten, over the old oak table. “Here. The Devil Slaves. I knew I had read about them somewhere...” she pressed her finger against a yellowish page. “The Devil Slaves are mortals who sold their souls to the devil in exchange of favours, that once conceded and enjoyed and once their souls were taken away, deprived them from their humanity. Deprived from souls, they've lost their capacities of empathy or compassion,” Rowan read from the book, “and they roam the underground without any sense of existence nor free will. They're normally mere empty bodies, inoffensive, but can be called upon onto the surface of the Earth by other servants of the devil, such as dark wizards and other creatures of the dark, to do their will. When called upon, the Devil Slaves are filled with a purpose, and won't stop till they achieve it, with complete disregard to their own self-preservation. They are controlled then by the forces of the dark, and obtain numerous powers and abilities, such as the ability to control minds, invisibility, superior strength, flying, aparition, they can suck souls and powers, and they can turn the powers of a creature of light against themselves, during them black in appearance, and filling them with dark energy. A Devil Slave that's been called upon can kill, but will rather suck your soul to make you one of them. The only way to stop them is to vanquish the force that has called them upon, or when they finish their mission. They are immortal, and will not be affected by the weapons of the mortal world.”

“So...” Kyle commented. “We're screwed.”

“They wanted to come into the castle grounds,” said Ashlyn. “Wanted me to break the barrier, right? Why didn't they do it themselves?”

“A Devil Slave is no challenge for powerful magic, Ashlyn,” said Rowan. “They can walk past a barrier of light, nor attack it or aparate inside. Only a creature of light can undo a barrier of light, through very powerful magic.”

“So Ashlyn could not have done it?” Ali said, then looked at Ashlyn. “No offence.”

“Non-taken.” Ashlyn smiled at her.

“She could if the Devil Slaves take control of her powers, fill them with dark energy to strengthen them.”

“Before, at the grounds,” said Ashlyn, “a male Devil Slave kissed me. But like... I felt ice inside. Pure ice. And it was as if I was losing myself, hoovering my insides.”

“Sucking your soul,” said Rowan, and Ashlyn nodded.

“But another one of them stopped him. Said it was for later, that they needed me first.”

“Devil Slaves can become thirsty when they detect your energy. It empowers them, to absorb souls. The bigger the group, the more souls they've taken, and the stronger they become. For example, one of them alone could not suck your soul no matter how strong the dark creature that brought them up is, but if they're in a big group... they empower each other.”

“So we have a few dozens of very dangerous creatures right outside the castle,” said Debbie full of concern. “Oh Rowan, what do we do? We'll need to warn the citizens, put walls around the forest...”

“Don't stress, Debbie,” advised Rowan. “If they were a threat to the city, they would've done something already. They're completely inoffensive to anyone who's not related to their mission, you see? Unless you actively stand between them and their goals. It seems they just want to reach the castle, or the palace within, and they need Ashlyn for that, they want her. So as long as we keep them away from her, everyone's safe.”

“But we sure need a plan. We can't just hide forever,” said Kenneth.

“The best you can do is let Ashlyn and I take care of the magical stuff,” said Rowan. “You're no challenge for them, and neither is an army. I'll train Ashlyn better, and we'll find other elementalists to help us, so that then we can find whoever's behind this.”

“How are we going to find them?” Ashlyn asked.

“I already have the Earth looking for them. Calling any brave warriors we have left,” Rowan explained. “We'll train at dawn in the beach, and again at dusk, when your other duties don't occupy you. We'll mix it up with your special forces training and recover the twenty years of lessons we've lost.”

Ashlyn nodded, excited with the idea. She couldn't wait to give those soul-sucking bastards a piece of her mind. But before, there was another matter that concerned her.

“Rowan, before they made me attack the castle, one of them grabbed me and like... got into my head or something. And I saw something, I don't know if they saw too, but I don't think it was a memory, or something they had lived. I think it was a vision for me. Perhaps part of the memory of the tribe you say my necklace has?”

“Could be. What did you see?” Rowan's blue eyes fixed on her.

“A couple. He called her love, so I guess they were together. They were like... hiding from a massacre, an attack that was taking place. I could hear the screams of desperation that I always hear. And I had seen her before, last night, I dreamt with her and she was in a cabin, like the ones of the tribes. But this time she was with the man and they seemed to be hiding, and each of them was holding... a think a baby girl. They said... 'they're not safe here'. I think they were talking about their daughters. The woman wanted to help the tribe, but he said that without their girls, their tribe had no hope, and that they had to go, take them away. And when the vision ended, the Devil Slave who had grabbed me said I was the one. That I'm bloodbound. What does all of that mean?”

Rowan frowned deeply and turned to her huge bookshelves, climbing a ladder to find one of the books at the top of the shelf. She held a book and looked lost in thought for a moment, before she decided to walk down the ladder with it, and towards the group slumped on sofas and chairs around her table.

“There is a legend... but it's just a legend. Not all of them are true, many aren't... and there's no evidence...”

“What is it?” Ashlyn inquired getting impatient, sipping from her tea.

“Over a century ago, the magical world that exists within our own was in harmony. We lived harmoniously with the ordinary world, we were part of society, even when many had gone into hiding, as well as many tribes, it was mostly due to internal conflict and had little to do with the ordinary world. Thing is, there have always been conflicts regarding our position in the country. Some magical creatures believe we're superior and we should rule over the ordinary world, instead of submitting to it as we do and hiding. But others believe we're all bound to this land and we should live in harmony in it, and that if we have some special skills or magic, that shouldn't stop us from being a part of the ordinary world instead of living in old-fashioned tribes without gas or electricity. There's just always a constant discussion about how our living should be, what our place is.”

“What do you think?” Kenneth wanted to know.

“I think true harmony comes with not fearing and prosecuting each other, but the ordinary people didn't attack our tribes. The dark magic did. And in Atlantis it's long accepted that there's magic, and we have no problem being a part of society, so why exclude ourselves? If someone wants to live in villages or fine, cool, they're necessary to, for example, grow healthy elementalists until they're mature physically and able to go without harming their magic. But if they want to be part of the modern world, it shouldn't be a problem. No one should be enslaved.”

“Agreed,” Ashlyn nodded. “So if there was harmony, what happened?”

“There was only harmony with the ordinary world, and only between them and the few of us who were okay with them, of course. But a part of our people, some wizards, some witches, some elves, druids, elementalists, spirits and other creatures, were convinced that they deserved to own Atlantis like in the old times, before the country was colonized. They were hostile towards the colonizers and wanted to kick them all out. So our society was split in half, it still is, has been for centuries. One half is what we call the Dark Beings, the one who thinks of themselves better and hate the ordinary people. The other, the Light Beings, us, creatures of light. But a century ago, give or take, a legend started becoming really popular amongst our society. The legend said that on a blue-mooned October, a phenomenon that occurs every five hundred years, from a love between the both sides, two elementalists would be born and only they could bring either harmony once and for all to the magic world, or give the Dark Beings success. It was said they would be very powerful elementalists, beings of both darkness and light, and that because of this, each side would be able to easily push them one way or another.”

“But we are all light and darkness, right?” said Ali. “I mean, no one's an angel.”

“Well, yes, but when it comes to magical beings, it has a deeper meaning than that. It signifies the ability to control powerful dark magic or powerful light magic.”

“So when is the blue moon?” Christopher inquired.

“Oh dear... it has been,” Rowan sighed. “It was a blue-mooned October in 1985. Only that only the magical beings can see a blue-moon of these characteristics. That October the moon was dark blue, and our world went Berserk for that legend, thinking it was true... the Dark Beings organized to attack tribes of elementalists of both sides, trying to find those babies... but as far as I'm concerned, they never did exist.”

“Unless they're the ones I saw,” Ashlyn pointed out.

“Yes,” Rowan nodded. “But it'd be the very first time I hear of their actual existence.”

“Wait a moment...” Ashlyn had a sudden realization. “I was born that October. What if... what if I see those babies because they were in my tribe? What if I was left here because the tribe was attacked, and my family knew Dark Beings were crazy looking for elementalist babies?”

“Oh, I was thinking of a possibility way worse than that...” Rowan said enigmatically. “Ashlyn... did that man and that woman look familiar to you?”

Ashlyn gulped and slowly nodded.

“She had the same hair I have, same exact colour, long... and the same blue eyes I had as a baby. And he had my entire face, my nose... my hazel eyes... but his hair was very dark, very wavy, and he had quite the beard. They were both tall. Both athletic, wearing black cloaks.” Ashlyn admitted.

“Then I think there's a very high chance you've found your biological family. That's what they meant with bloodbound. You're bloodbound to them.”

Rowan's words felt like a bucket of ice thrown on the head.

“But that can't be,” said Ali. “We only got one baby, and Ashlyn's a being of light, she'd never kill a fly.”

“Oh, you don't understand,” Rowan said gently. “A being of light can do bad things, and vice versa, but to be a being of darkness, to have such power over dark arts, they'd have to lose a chuck of their purity. They'd have to commit murder, Ali. Cold-blooded murder of an innocent person. It's the only way they can turn, and it'd be painful, very painful. Their soul would break. In the case of a being of dark, the only way they could become a being of light would be through truly, actively regretting all the pain they've caused, which again would be so painful they could die.”

“Cool,” Christopher chuckled. “One less.”

“Yeah. Being a being of one side of another is, usually, something one's born with. Bloodbound to it. It comes naturally. It doesn't mean one doesn't do both good and bad, just that the balance is inclined to one side. Beings of darkness cannot feel mercy, compassion, empathy, regret... and beings of light cannot bring themselves to not help, or to cause major pain. But if someone is born of two sides, they would always be in the borderline. Able to be powerful with both dark magic and light magic, able to cause destruction and to have immense mercy... until the balance inclines so much to one side that the only way of going back is that I mentioned, which means risking life seriously. In their case, to really incline the balance would take an exceptional act of either destruction or self-sacrifice. And as you can see, it's way easier to incline to the dark side. One mistake, and you're there. One accident even, like throwing your sibling down the stairs in a moment of anger and killing them, and you've crossed the line. But to firmly incline to the light side... well, that's fireman or doctor's material. Requires many big actions.”

“So if I'm one of those babies,” Ashlyn said. “I haven't inclined the balance in a definite way yet, right? So that's what the Devil Slaves wanted. Make me kill innocent lives in sacred land, throw me right into the dark side.”

Rowan nodded.

“It'd destroy all humanity you've got. Make you a monster. And once you've crossed the line, believe me, it wouldn't be easy to feel compassion or sorry again. It'd be as if in a matter of a second, your entire mind changed. You'd become blood-thirsty, attracted so hard to dark magic that it'd be extraordinarily difficult to turn around.”

There was a tense silence then as they meditated what they had just learnt. Ali held Ashlyn close, with an arm wrapped around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Ashlyn felt like she had just been slapped. She had a sister somewhere and... they were coming for them. They wouldn't stop until she did something unforgivable.

“Then I need to find my sister,” said Ashlyn in a bare whisper. “Before they find her. Before they turn her to the darkness.”

“I don't get it, why wasn't she given to us then?” Mike inquired. “We'd have kept them both safe. This is sacred land.”

“It's not the only sacred land,” said Debbie. “Maybe they thought putting two in one same place would be risky, because if one was found by the wrong hands, then both of them would be lost. Maybe they thought if they were separated, there were higher chances that at least one of them was found by a good family.”

“Yes,” Rowan nodded in agreement. “I suspect that's the case. And for all we know, Ashlyn's twin could be dead by now. But I don't think she's been turned yet. I'd feel the unbalance of energy.”

“What happens if,” Ashlyn started, “each of us fell on different sides?”

“There'd be war in our world, and one of you would have to kill the other.”

“But then the one who committed murder would become a being of darkness,” Ali reasoned.

“Not really,” said Rowan. “There are exceptions. Killing a sibling, if it is to eradicate a great evil, it's considered a big act of self-sacrifice. Putting the world above the most sacred thing, family. So best we can do is find the sister and make sure they stay in the light. Then, the darkness will end once and for all and our world will become harmonic again.”

“Wouldn't there be war?” said Kyle.

“No. The Dark Beings lose the minute the both are in our side. They'd surrender, and our light would be too strong for that kind of darkness to exist again.”

“Wouldn't that destroy the balance?” Ashlyn asked.

“Not really. We all do good and bad, the balance is right there even if one side of the energy is lost, because when a side is lost, harmony reigns, for good or for bad. That's the goal, Ashlyn. To find harmony within our world. Shame is that if they win, we're very severely screwed. Forget any civil war. It'd be hell.”

That night, Ali insisted on sleeping over at Ashlyn's. They shared Ashlyn's bed, as they had done a million times, but Ashlyn could barely sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she had nightmares of her tribe's destruction, and visions of war.

  
  



	11. A power of light

The beginning of 2007 was to keep Atlantis busy, and its rulers, even more. Coincidentally, the Government held general elections and then Ali and her parents, as the current King and Queen and the future Queen, held meeting after meeting with politicians and citizens to help decide the new direction of the country and what measures were most urgent. The Royals didn't really intervene much in politics, but they had the power to cease any party that was unconstitutional, which wasn't too hard to be; extremes weren't tolerated in politics, and neither were corruption, false testimony, treason, or any dirt in your records. And cheating on an spouse was considered dirt and a motive to lose your position as President, for example.

This meant that despite all that was going on behind the palace's closed doors in their personal lives, Ali didn't have as much time to spend with Ashlyn as she would've liked. But as Ashlyn didn't need to follow her around much as long as she was inside the grounds of the castle, this also meant that while Ali was busy, Ashlyn spent countless hours at a beach just a couple hours East from Anderwen, training with Rowan and her Special Forces trainer, Lloyd. Football was shoved aside, for both women.

On one particular occasion, just about a couple weeks after the attack of the Devil Slaves, Ashlyn arrived at the palace late for dinner, after so much training. Sometimes, Ashlyn and her family did her meals at their house, but very often they'd join the Royals for breakfast or dinner, so to Ashlyn it was perfectly natural to walk into the palace looking for food. She was drained, and had a bruised eyebrow and a split lip, aside from being incredibly chilly from the cold night. Turns out her special skills weren't going to keep her warm forever through snow storms. She dragged her feet to the kitchens, knowing it was past dinner time and with a growling stomach, and almost collided with Ali, who was walking out.

“Ash!” Ali looked up with a grin and then her jaw dropped. “Jesus, it was rough today wasn't it?”

“They're training me for a supernatural war,” Ashlyn sighed. “How was your day?”

“Better than yours,” Ali showed her a basket she was carrying. “I figured you'd be starved, so I made us a picnic!”

“Wait, haven't you eaten?”

“I made _you_ a picnic,” Ali corrected, and Ashlyn grinned.

“You're the best. Thank you.”

“That's what besties are for.”

That was a problem, Ashlyn thought. She knew she was head over heels for Ali, Whitney knew, Tobin knew, but Ali didn't. Ashlyn wouldn't risk their sisterhood for that, but every time she saw a new suitor, or a boy that dared to flirt with Ali, she'd feel like pushing her fist down their throat, grabbing their scrotum from the inside, and pulling it out through their mouths.

The two young women settled in one of their favourite rooms in the palace, a small carpeted empty room on top of one of the three towers the palace had. It was the telescope room, and had the best views of the city. They sat on the big rug in the middle, and for a long moment, the only sounds came from Ashlyn munching and drinking, completely starved. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

At last, Ali broke the silence.

“Is there any chance I can join you if there's a war? I mean, I'm the Princess, right?”

Ashlyn stopped munching to scowl at her, although the serious effect of the scowl was ruined by her full cheeks, that gave her the appearance of a squirrel. Ali chuckled and caressed the one dimple Ashlyn had, on her left cheek, making Ashlyn's ears feel hot.

“Why would you want to go to war, Alex?” Ashlyn inquired as she gulped down. Usually, Ali went by 'Ali', but her family called her Alex more often, and sometimes Ashlyn did too. Ali was a nickname born in school, when Alex was used by some boys and there was a need to make a distinction.

“Because my best friend is going,” said Ali matter-of-factly. “Besides, we are leaders, right? The Royal rulers are required to have some years of military training, Mum and Dad do, I do...” she shrugged. “We're supposed to lead our armies. Even in the supernatural world, right?”

“I'm afraid the magical world has no rulers, Al,” Ashlyn smiled sadly. “I don't think any Dark Creature gives a shit about our institutions. And answering to your question, no, you can't come.”

“But Ash, we've always had each other's backs!”

“This is different,” Ashlyn stressed looking pleadingly at her. “Alex, we could all die if this goes wrong. I need you to be prepared to evacuate the country if we lose, if I die in this, try to hide, survive. If you come with me, what are you going to fight with? You have no magical self-defence skills.”

“But I don't want to lose my best friend!”

Ashlyn looked at her and saw she had tears in her eyes, so she put the tray of food aside and reached to grab Ali's hands.

“Hey... don't cry. If there's a war it'll just be me against my evil twin, what a cliché, right? Worst film ever,” she side-smiled, trying to make her smile, but Ali looked truly sad.

“But your evil twin would have all the dark powers, more than any other dark creature. Black fire and black water, if she has your same elements... she'll fry you, Ash. There'll be nothing you can do.”

“I have the responsibility of the word on my shoulders, that bitch won't have it easy. Besides, we will find her before they take her to the darkness...”

“What do you have? The dark creatures have the force of devil himself, what do the light ones have? God?” Ashlyn snorted a laugh.

“Cheesier than that,” said Ashlyn. “Rowan couldn't even explain it. She said that the more good we do, the more we receive. The Elements sort of give feedback or something. But she doesn't know of any special weapon I could use. The dark ones have hatred... I guess mine could be love, but... to whom? A twin I don't even know?”

Ali shrugged, but her brown eyes found Ashlyn's hazel ones and suddenly she pulled from Ashlyn's hands, put her own arms around the younger woman's neck, and planted a firm kiss on her lips. Ashlyn didn't react for a second, surprised, but then she kissed her back with enthusiasm, wrapping her arms around the brunette and opening her legs around her so Ali could lean closer. They both moaned as the kiss deepened and Ali buried a hand in her long blonde-brown locks, and at last they separated, breathless, but only a couple inches.

“Maybe this can be your weapon,” Ali whispered hoarsely. Ashlyn swallowed and nodded, looking down at her swollen lips.

“Alex, I... you... we...”

Ali chuckled at her speechlessness.

“Do you think I haven't seen the way you look at me? I'm sorry I cannot be as oblivious but... I want you too. I always did. And if we may not have all the time we hoped for then... then we should take advantage of every minute.”

“Carpe diem,” Ashlyn kissed her this time, and ridiculously, she felt like Ali made flames in her chest. They kissed passionately for a long moment, until Ali pulled to breathe and Ashlyn's lips trailed down her cheek, her jaw, her neck. “I love you,” she said between kisses, holding her tight, “I love you so much. You're my favourite person in the world. Always have been. I could only fight off those Devil Slaves because you were there, I'm sure.”

Ali grinned and closed her eyes, burying her nose in Ashlyn's side, trying to remember her scent forever. Ashlyn always smelled like the ocean, with a hint of something musky. She had always found it odd, but now it made sense.

“I love you too,” Ali whispered by her ear, sending shivers down Ashlyn's spine. “And I don't ever want to be without you. We were supposed to grow old together, be a team. I'd be a Queen and you'd be my right hand, as always... that's why I always refused the suitors. So promise me you'll come back. Promise.”

Ashlyn's eyes opened wide just as her lips trailed down Ali's sharp jaw, and she took a deep breath. She couldn't lie to Ali. She couldn't.

“I promise you,” she said at last. “I'll always come home to you. Always, my Queen.”

Ali pulled from her hair gently to move her to face her and kiss her, and they continued to kiss passionately but lovingly, without hurry, full of gentleness, taking their time to really feel the other. Slowly, clothes started to fly away and Ali pushed Ashlyn against the rug, trailing kisses down Ashlyn's muscular torso. The younger woman was a big fan of tattoos, although Mike and Tammye had ruled she could not get any until she was eighteen. So she had spent the last three years tattooing first her whole left arm with life stories in pictures, and her shoulders, where 'knowledge speaks wisdom listens' could be read. Ali found her tattoos very attractive, and kissed them too, before paying attention to her breasts. Ali herself had three tattoos. 'Liebe' on her left forearm after a couple years studying in Germany and falling in love with it, and a part of 'The Little Prince' in German on her left side, were the biggest ones. Then there was a small one just near her pubis, of her University Football Team's number and logo.

Soon, moans filled the room as they moved against each other, sweating as they picked-up pace, Ashlyn's fingers inside of Ali as the brunette ground her clit against Ashlyn's.

An hour later, as they lied breathless on the rug, holding each other and kissing lazily, Ali suddenly laughed.

“What's so funny, beautiful?” Ashlyn inquired with an amused smile.

“I feel like flames inside,” Ali commented. “Must be the whole making love to an elementalist thing.” Ashlyn looked smug, and buried her face in the crook of Ali's neck, kissing her in all the spots she had learned that earned moans. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Ashlyn squeezed her tight and kissed her temple, her necklace pressing between her chest and Ali's.

“Do you ever take it off?” Ali commented, playing with the shark and not being able to resist kissing the area of skin around.

“Never.”

“Not even in the shower? Or to sleep? They say it's dangerous to sleep with necklaces.”

“No.”

“How come?”

“Because I feel ill when I don't wear it. Weak. Rowan says it is because I was ripped from my roots as a baby, so the necklace was left with me by my parents because they knew I'd need it to compensate. That's why I haven't gotten so ill since I wear it.”

“Curious,” Ali kissed her softly. “God, you're so amazing.” Ashlyn chuckled.

“Have you looked at yourself?” they exchanged a soft smile, and then Ali's eyes trailed to something that caught her attention on the floor nearby.

“Is that a new cloak?”

“Oh!” Ashlyn suddenly remembered and stood up with excitement, grabbing it. “I almost forgot. Rowan gifted it to me today. She said I was wrapped in it when they found me, it's handmade by my ancestors and look, it smells just like me.” She passed it to Ali, who brought it to her nose and moaned.

It was soft, warm, and it did smell just like Ashlyn.

“It's amazing.”

“Right? You should keep it.”

“Me? What? No, you wear it. You'll need all the help you can get.”

“Alex,” Ashlyn insisted. “I've got all I need. I want you to have something mine. It can be your lucky charm.”

Ali smiled small as she looked down at the cloth, taking it, and nodded.

“Since you're coming back, we'll call it a lend,” Ali said.

“Now come on,” Ashlyn looked utterly satisfied, and kissed her gently, “it's late, and I want to tuck you in bed.”

They got dressed and after dropping by the kitchen to leave the remains of their picnic, they went up the stairs to Ali's room. Ali put on her pyjama, slid under the covers, and Ashlyn tucked her in and pressed her lips against her forehead.

“Sweet dreams, love,” Ashlyn whispered in the darkness. But before she could pull away from the bed, Ali grabbed her arm.

“Why don't you stay?” Ali suggested. “It's cold outside, and it's very late... and you have to come here in the morning anyway, so...”

Ashlyn smirked, knowing there was no arguing, and pulled her sweater over her head. As soon as she was just in her panties, she slid under the covers next to Ali and wrapped her arms around her, spooning her. Ali let out a content hum and brushed her nose against her cheek, and Ashlyn held her closer.

“Good night,” Ali whispered, kissing her hand. Ashlyn could barely hum in response, as she gave in to exhaustion.

  
  


  
  



	12. A tale of two worlds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER:
> 
> All of this is FICTION. Even when there are characters named after and inspired on real people, and even when there might be real locations and historical events. It's still a FICTIONAL story, and it's not meant to detriment, insult or hurt anyone, but only with the purpose of entertainment.
> 
> I think we can all use some entertainment in our lives through these difficult times. I don't know you, but I've lost nearly everything over Covid. I no longer have a job, a career, and all my professional plans for this year are, as for now, cancelled. I can't even make any future professional plans as for now. I literally had to pack my bags, leave my first house since I moved out from my childhood home, and leave my friends there, my life there, everything, for God knows how long, so I could return home and take care of my elderly mother less than a week ago. And now I'm fighting to stay healthy so I can keep her healthy and take care of her, while we live on our savings, that's all we have left. And writing brings me a little bit of joy and for what I see, reading brings you a bit of joy too, and I think we can all use as much joy now as we can get. So that's the only purpose of fanfiction for me, nothing else, and certainly, nothing moved by some "white saviour complex" or a desire to deprecate anyone or anything.
> 
> Thank you all for your support and your comments. We will get through this, I don't know how, I don't know when, but we will. Trust me on this.

**Chapter 12: A tale of two worlds.**

When Ashlyn awoke in the morning, she had the feeling that every fibre of her being was utterly relaxed, and she could only keep her eyes mostly closed, only slightly opened, as Ali peppered kisses over her face. She had no idea how long had Ali felt for her this way. Perhaps, like it had happened to Ashlyn, it had only been the natural maturation of their feelings as they grew older, a progressive evolution from friendship to more, because now, both of them seemed to want to recover all the lost time.

“Time to wake up, sleepyhead,” Ali's voice came softly. Ashlyn hummed in agreement, and moved closer to Ali, pressing her face against her chest to sleep more, eliciting a giggle. “Babe, I'm serious, it's already late.”

Ashlyn looked up and smiled sleepily, becoming so adorable Ali could only kiss her.

“What time issit?”

“Half past nine. Didn't you have dawn training?”

“Not today, since we trained until almost dawn,” Ashlyn yawned and stretched, pulling Ali closer to her with her strong arms. Only then did she realize Ali was already dressed with a jumper and jeans. “Did you already start working?”

“No, I just got dressed to buy you more time, and so if Mum comes wondering where we are at least one of us is ready to answer the door so she doesn't barge in.”

“Oh shit,” Ashlyn suddenly sat up in panic. “Shit, the Queen! Your parents! I had sex with the Princess! Does this constitute treason?!”

“Ash, relax,” Ali laughed. “You had _consensual lovemaking_ ,” she kissed Ashlyn, “with,” she pressed her lips along her jaw and Ashlyn's eyes started to close, “the Princess,” she sucked on her pulse point and Ashlyn moaned. Ali pulled apart and grinned. “You're fine. But we should tell my parents we're dating though, during breakfast. I told Giselle we had a sleepover and asked her to please bring your clothes for the day.” Ali got up and took a stack of clothes neatly folded on an armchair, putting them on the bed. “And you can use my shower if you want,” she looked up and saw Ashlyn was transfixed staring at her, “everything okay?”

“You want to date me?” Ashlyn asked, unsure of having heard right.

“Of course, don't you?”

“Me? Yes, sure! It's just...” Ashlyn shrugged. “You're the Princess. I'm a weirdo. I never thought you actually wanted anything publicly official with me, I don't know... all your suitors are like, super smart and successful and...”

“Ash, we're too old for this,” Ali chuckled. “I want you, okay? You're good enough, and you know that, so shove the insecurities in the depths of the closet we're coming out of. Besides, dating doesn't mean we're engaged, it just means we want to be together and see where it goes.”

“What if it goes downhill?”

“You'll still be my right hand,” Ali said with a shrug. “We'll still be best friends. We'd work to make it happen.”

Ashlyn side smiled at her and nodded, leaning between the bed posts at the feet of the bed to kiss her.

“That's a deal. Now, if we're going to tell your Majesties, then I should really get dressed before they smell the sex on me. Knowing Deb, she will.”

Ali laughed and Ashlyn ran for the en-suite bathroom.

An hour later, both women arrived at the breakfast table, where their families were already finishing breakfast and commenting the morning news of the newspapers.

“At last!” Mike grinned at them. “You didn't show-up for dinner, your bed empty this morning... we thought you had finally reached the rebel stage.” He said with amusement.

“Training ended past dinner, and Ali was so kind to save some for me,” said Ashlyn, sitting next to her now girlfriend and smiling at her. “Then I pretty much slumped dead on her sofa so, sleepover time.”

“For the good old times,” Ali sentenced with an amused grin.

“Well that's good, although we have a bit of a busy day ahead,” Debbie explained, passing her fingers through her long dark brown hair, that already had a bit of white in it. “The Queen of Norway arrives today with her son Björn. Apparently the King is nursing a cold so they thought it wiser to have Björn accompany the Queen instead.”

Because the Monarchy in Atlantis was so odd and wasn't absolutist nor by blood, other monarchies usually considered it a little inferior, so it was important to keep good relationships with their neighbours. The Norwegians were good friends, and both countries often worked together and made favourable deals, and Björn was Ali's childhood crush. Four years older than Ali, they had first met as children, and hadn't seen each other in about five years. Ashlyn found herself jealous all of the sudden.

“The visit was today?” Ali's eyes widened. “Wasn't it next week?”

Kenneth giggled.

“Finally, the day a date slips past Ali's mind. I thought it'd never happen.” Debbie chuckled at her husband in amusement.

The Kingdom of Atlantis was situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, with a shape similar to Australia, a size of about 500.000km², and surrounded entirely by water. It had Greenland and Iceland on the North, Canada at the West, the Azores somewhere a bit far from their Southern coast, and Ireland and the United Kingdom at the East. Only Ireland was close enough for the shadow of their frontier to be seen from the beach.

So that led to Ashlyn and Ali standing alongside the King and Queen and Mike at Neptune's Harbour to receive their visitors later that morning. In Atlantis they had a mixed amount of religions. Mainly, it was the Atlantis Gods such as Neptune, between others, but they also had a strong current of Nordic Gods and Roman ones, although the country's official religion was none.

The five stood alone as the King and Queen, the Princess (because Kyle had refused to be even Prince, and was formally known just as Sir Kyle Krieger), the Chief of the Royal Guards and the Princess' Guard. Mike was also the Queen and King's main adviser and right hand. They wore the traditional Atlantis formal wear used for formal occasions or National Festivities, which was of bright colours, usually in tones of blue, white, brown, grey, green or purple, although in the modern days they could be found of any colour, of a soft material similar to silk but that was extracted from a type of plant natural of Atlantis and very common there, usually with some sort of embroidery as decoration, and that traditionally (and the traditional one was the one the Royals had to wear) consisted of:

  * Any type of shoe could be worn, although traditionally they were thick, tall boots, with different types of heel available.

  * Dresses or: or collarless tunics that reached above the knee, with long-sleeved darl, sober trousers going under the boots.

  * An optional long coat that reached below the knee, often collarless, although it could vary, and often matching the tunic, although it could be of a plain, sober colour matching the boots, which was the men's regularly preferred option.

  * The sleeves of the coat and tunics could vary, could have a slice, be shorter or longer, although with winter weathers like the ones they were having, it'd be insane not to have them long. The attires could also be made thicker or lighter depending on the temperatures.




The attires were often accompanied by a good show of jewellery, although it didn't have to be that way, but it was usually because of their use as a formal wear, and gloves or hats could be used depending on temperature and taste.

This, however, wasn't a formal encounter, but it was considered a show of respect for Atlanteans to wear the attire to welcome important personalities.

As the luxurious modern ship stopped at the dock, Ashlyn looked down at Ali, now her same size due to her tall heeled boots, although Ashlyn was usually half a head taller.

“You look stunning,” Ashlyn whispered by her ear. Ali had a lilac tunic with golden embroidery, matching her coat, and her hair was loose and wavy, framing her face alongside rain-like earrings. Ali blushed and grinned, her hands crossed neatly over her front.

“You too,” Ali whispered back. “We'll have to wait until our visitors leave to tell them, though. These are important international relationships matters.” Ashlyn nodded in agreement.

“Don't worry.”

When the two visitors appeared with their security team, Mike and Ashlyn bowed and the Royals stepped forward to hug and shake hands, as they were old friends.

“Look how much Björn has grown and how handsome of a man he is!” Debbie grinned at the blonde boy, who smiled timidly. “What do you feed him, Sonja?”

As the parents chatted and laughed, Ali hugged the man, and pointed to Ashlyn.

“Björn, I'm sure you remember my friend Ashlyn? She's my personal Guard now.”

“Your Majesty,” Ashlyn saluted. She was conscious that the other royals weren't like theirs. The other's laws were usually tighter, protocol worse, and her rank much closer to commoner.

“Of course,” Björn smiled charmingly and offered a hand Ashlyn shook. “May we address informally? All this protocol is a headache.”

“That I can do,” Ashlyn smiled cordially.

Due to the important visitors, Ashlyn's other tasks were cancelled. The Norwegians would only be there for a day, as the visit was part of an annual tour that included a different country every day and they were to proceed to Canada, but for the day two state banquets were made, one for lunch and one for dinner. What Ashlyn hated was that they had to treat their guests as monarchies around the world were usually treated, and her own home became a place where she felt very inferior. She had to stand with her father and the other guards instead of sitting to eat with her girlfriend, she couldn't go and practice and train, and she stood outside the meeting rooms while her father and the royals talked inside.

But the time on her own did give Ashlyn an opportunity to consider what she was getting into. She knew what Ali's dream was; to one day rule Atlantis as the Queen, with her by her side, only that now Ashlyn could actually become Queen too, a position she had never remotely considered. Would she want this? Meetings with other royalties and governments all the time? State businesses? Or would she want a normal life, like Kyle? Or maybe, to find her own normalcy escaping to the beach as often as possible?

That night, they invited the Norwegians to join them at the Winter Festival Celebrations that occurred during all of January. At nights, numerous beaches of Atlantis filled with controlled fires for people to jump over for a year of good luck, they ate traditional seafood dishes, participated on traditional competition games, and watched the Northern Lights. This time, they were joined by Ashlyn's family and Kyle, as well as numerous politicians, and they all went to one of the beaches at the far north of the country, just an hour in the state jet, to enjoy the magical night.

As they descended towards the beach, Ali seemed to struggle a little with her heels and the steep way down, and a Norwegian guard stepped to help her, grabbing her arm.

“Oh, than—,” Ali went to say, but Ashlyn stepped in the middle fiercely, taking Ali's hand and gently shoving the man backwards, glaring at him.

“You can't touch the Princess,” Ashlyn said seriously to the confused guard. “I'll help her.”

Kenneth laughed, looking at them.

“Oh, Ashlyn is just a fierce protector, Ali's bestie since babies, you see,” he commented, and they continued to descend the stairs.

“Shark,” Ali whispered into Ashlyn's ear, amused, and they intertwined hands.

“You love it,” Ashlyn whispered back.

They descended onto the beach and sat on cushions that had been placed forming a semicircle on a part of the big, crowded beach.

“So what exactly is this about?” Björn asked as they sat. “Celebrating winter?”

“Yes,” Debbie replied sympathetically, “you see, in Atlantis we're very united to our indigenous ancestors, and this festival is thousands of years old. It celebrates the start of a new year, the winter that brings the magical Northern Lights, the Nature, and also pays tribute to those who couldn't arrive to this date. We hold other festivals in other seasons, but this is one of the most popular ones, and thus the longest one.”

“Don't you celebrate Christmas, Debbie?” Sonja, Queen of Norway, asked.

“We do, but it's only a few days' of celebration. This is much bigger, partially because it's not religious but National, no one feels unwelcomed. Oh, look, the tribal fire dance!”

She pointed ahead at a small group of people who were doing acrobatics over bonfire, doing somersaults, spinning in the air, and even throwing and catching torches on fire mid-air. Ashlyn had joined them since childhood, as she had always joined on their indigenous festivities and traditions, even when the indigenous that participated were too afraid to openly admit they weren't normal, but had some sort of magical ability. However, non-magical creatures were always accepted to join, but you could tell it wasn't so easy for them. Now that Ashlyn knew who she was, she finally understood why she was always so good and loved it so much.

“Our indigenous citizens pay tribute to one element every season,” Kenneth explained to the Norwegians. “Fire in the winter, Earth in the spring, Air in the summer and Water in the fall. Our nation's ancestral belief is that we all owe life to our elements and our land and our territory, and we are bound to them. It's a way to say thank you, you could say, and celebrate each element.”

That explained while there were fire acrobatics and spectacles all over the beach.

“Actually,” said Ali suddenly, “Ashlyn's our most athletic family member. She's particularly extraordinary at the fire dance.”

“Really?” Sonja smiled. “Ashlyn, why don't you show us how it's done? Not every day one gets to come.”

“Yes Ash, give our guests a show!” Kyle encouraged.

“All right,” Ashlyn removed her boots and, hiding her excitement, pulled her braided hair into a tight bun and removed her coat before joining the others at the bonfire. She saluted her friends there and when her turn came to join in the fun.

She bowed to the fire in respect and then, along with another acrobat, ran to the fire and jumped in the air, elevated over the roaring flames, and landed with her feet firm on the sand before doing a backflip and flipping thrice in the air over the fire, crossing path with another acrobat before landing on the other side of the bonfire. Ashlyn found herself enjoying the fire dance even more than the usual, now that she could really feel the energy of the fire and feed from it, she felt in her natural zone, at home.

When at last the dance finished, she returned to the applauding group sweaty, and Ali handed her a glass of cocktail, kissing her cheek and praising her by her ear.

  
  



	13. The fire in me

**Chapter 13: The fire in me.**

As they returned to the palace late at night after the festivities, for the Norwegians to spend the night with them before marching away in the morning, Ali took Ashlyn's hand while they walked up the hill to the castle that contained the palace.

“You were particularly impressive tonight, darling.”

“I seem to recall you mentioning it once or twice,” said Ashlyn with a smug smile.

“Were you jealous?” Ali asked. “You keep looking at Björn as if he was a Devil Slave.”

“He likes you,” said Ashlyn matter-of-factly. “He really does like you. He wants you, Ali.”

“I don't want him.”

“Really? You could unite two kingdoms.”

“What for? My kingdom has all it could ever want,” said Ali with a shrug. “I love you.”

“I know,” Ashlyn squeezed her hand. “I just don't particularly fancy others devouring you with their eyes.” Ali smiled at her.

“Believe me, once our guests leave, you're going to be devouring me with far more than the eyes, I expect.”

Ashlyn laughed, blushing.

“Princess Alexandra talking dirty? What happened?” Ali laughed.

“You happened.”

Ashlyn and Ali got to hang out together until bedtime, when Ashlyn accompanied Ali to her rooms. They parted with a kiss, and Ashlyn turned to go back to her rooms. As she descended the stairwell, she was suddenly shoved down by a man who passed by her side. Before she could help it, she rolled down the stairs and landed with a thud.

“Ouch!” Ashlyn groaned, looking up and seeing Björn glaring at her from the feet of the stairs. “What the hell?” she jumped to her feet, ignoring the cracks of her spine.

“It seemed like you needed to be put in your place,” he said, raising his chin arrogantly. He was five years older than Ashlyn, a head taller, and strong. He had, Ashlyn knew, a career as a Marine.

“Maybe I should remind you of your place as a _guest_ ,” Ashlyn snarled, clenching her fists. The room was empty at this hour.

“I may be a guest, but I am a Prince, and I am to marry Ali. I don't like sharing her, you should know.”

“She's not yours to marry,” Ashlyn growled. “Not yours in any other way. She's a free woman and she does what she wants. And you may have a title, but you're nothing more than a rat.”

“What did you just say?” Björn growled, walking to her angrily. Ashlyn side-smiled coldly.

“A deaf rat, apparently.” The man raised a hand and slapped her with the back of his hand, so hard his ring sliced Ashlyn's cheek, already bruised from her training the night before. “When Ali and I are wed, I will make sure you are kicked out of palace and shown to your place at my feet. Kneel, you despicable peasant!”

Ashlyn clenched her jaw and fists, controlling herself to avoid attacking him with her powers, and held his gaze, looking up.

“This wing is forbidden to guests. If I were you, I'd find my place at the guests' wing before I call the guards. They obey me, I may remind you.”

Björn glared at her with his grey eyes and walked away, not without making sure to collide his shoulder hard against her arm. Ashlyn observed to make sure the man returned past the door to the guest wing before walking over to it and closing the door, locking it from inside. She then took a deep breath to collect herself before calling for a guard.

“Yes, my lady?” asked a guard coming over.

“Please, inform my parents I'll be doing night guards tonight, and not returning home, okay? So they don't wait for me.” The guard nodded.

“Goodnight, my lady.”

“Goodnight, sir.”

Ashlyn turned around and hurried back up the stairs to Ali's corridor. She stood next to the princess' bedroom's door and prepared to guard the whole night.

“Ashlyn!”

The guard's eyes snapped open and as she looked up, her neck cracked. She had obviously fallen asleep, having a snooze while bowing her head down, standing up, and now the corridor was full of light and Ali and Ann, fully dressed, stood in front of her.

“Ali!” Ashlyn cleared her throat. “Good morning.”

“Good m—?” Ali grabbed her face gently and turned her to see the fresh cut better, clenching her jaw angrily. “Where you guarding in case Björn returned?”

“What?” Ashlyn faked to be confused.

“Ann's told me what happened last night,” said Ali. Ann looked down, timidly.

“I heard you fall and looked over the railings. I heard you arguing with Björn, saw what he did, and heard what he said about Ali and you,” Ann admitted.

“That's okay,” Ashlyn shrugged. “Snobby little prince, he's leaving today anyway. He's not worth our time.”

“He _hit_ you,” Ali murmured angrily. “Do you seriously think I'm going to let this slide? That I'm going to allow a guest, I don't care his tittle, to hit one of my own?”

“Ali, calm down. It's important to keep diplomatic relationships with him, he's the future king...”

“Then he should really apologize and make an effort to fix the mess he's caused, don't you think? Luckily, his sister is one of my closest friends, so the entire kingdom still has hope. Go have breakfast, Ashlyn. With us, as always.”

“Okay, aren't you coming?”

“I have to have a word with my father. Ann, please make sure she sits in her regular place.”

Ann nodded and Ali stomped away, fuming. Ashlyn sighed and walked with Ann to the breakfast room. She needed a shower and a change of clothes, but it would have to wait.

“I'm sorry I eavesdropped,” said Ann, looking guilty.

“Don't be. Ali's lucky to have you, someone who cares,” Ashlyn patted her back.

At the breakfast table, everyone was already waiting and Deb was chatting animatedly with Tammye and Sonja. Ashlyn held Björn's glance and sat down at her usual place.

“Ash, sweetie, what happened to your cheek?” Tammye asked.

“Nothing, Mum. Don't worry,” Ashlyn smiled at her.

They had almost finished their tea when Ali and Kenneth suddenly arrived, both looking unfriendly. Ali quickly wished good morning and sat next to Ashlyn, squeezing her thigh under the table.

“What kept you both so long?” Debbie asked as her husband sat.

“I'm afraid one of our guests has insulted us, Debbie,” said Kenneth, looking rigid. Sonja instantly filled of worry.

“Ken, has any of my staff been inappropriate?”

“Not your staff, dear Sonja. Your son,” said Kenneth, fixing his eyes coldly on Björn, who shifted uncomfortable.

“I apologize if I've stirred trouble, but I don't know what you're talking about, Sir.”

“Really?” Ali laughed dryly. “Because members of my staff gave me the tip this morning that they had seen you not only throwing Ashlyn down the stairs, but slapping her, referring to her as a despicable peasant, and as if that wasn't enough, they heard you talk about me as if I was yours to marry.”

“Oh dear!” Sonja scowled and glared at her son. “Is that so, Björn?!”

“Mother, I—,”

“Enough!” Sonja shut him up, smelling the excuses, and looked kindly at Ashlyn. “Lady Ashlyn, Princess Alexandra, in the name of my kingdom I extend you my deepest apologizes for my son. I was hoping bringing him alone would teach him to become a better ruler after he was caught in several ignoble behaviours at home, but apparently I was wrong. At this rhythm, I should just trust my daughter to rule instead.”

“All forgotten, Your Majesty,” said Ashlyn timidly.

“If she forgets, so do I,” said Ali then.

“Kristoff!” Sonja called, and one of her guards appeared. “Please take my son to one of our ships before he embarrasses our kingdom any further.”

“Mother, you can't just shove me away!” said Björn, indignant.

“Of course I can, have you forgotten I am the Queen? Kristoff, make sure my little brat of a son is brought back to the Marines' boarding school, and I'll inform the King,” once Björn left, Sonja turned to Ali's parents. “Again, my deepest apologizes. Björn's position in our monarchy has been questioned repeatedly, and I can only guess he thought marrying Ali would give him a few extra points. But it seems it'll be our daughter who eventually becomes queen.”

“Glad to hear,” Debbie smiled at her. “Do not worry, Sonja, children can be difficult at times. Our Kyle, although an angel, thank heavens, never had the slightest interest for the monarchy. But younger daughters can simply step up and do a formidable job.”

“Maybe we should've told you Ali's already, as we'd say in our teens, 'taken'” Kenneth commented with a sympathetic smile towards Ashlyn. Debbie looked confused.

“Is she, my love?” Debbie informed. “Why wasn't I told?”

“Well, our daughter just found the moment this morning, but you had already gone,” Kenneth explained. “It seems Ali and Ashlyn have taken a step forward in their relationship, correct?”

Ali beamed and Ashlyn blushed hard, caught by surprise.

“Correct,” confirmed Ali. Tammye and Mike grinned in delight.

“Lucky us, that would definitely unite our families,” Tammye said, and Debbie squealed.

“This is so exciting!” declared Debbie. Sonja looked surprised, but then smiled.

“Well congratulations, Princess Alexandra, Lady Ashlyn.”

“Thank you,” Ali nodded, and elbowed Ashlyn lightly, because the younger woman had lost her words.

“Yes, thanks,” Ashlyn managed a timid smile.

Once breakfast came and went, Ashlyn had another guard accompany Ali while she went and showered and changed her clothes. Her feet hurt after a whole night awake and standing up, so once Ali returned to the palace from biding farewell to their guests, they found a spot at the library to cuddle and do more research on Ashlyn's origins.

The couple sat side by side on the sofa, with Ashlyn's feet on Ali's lap, both reading surrounded by tall bookshelves full of books and books.

“It would've been so cool to live in the seventh century,” said Ali. “Imagine the amount of magic here. Dragons, mermaids, sorcerers.... God.”

“There weren't tampons in the seventh century,” Ashlyn commented, and Ali snorted a laugh.

“You're right, we're better off here.”

There was a knock on the door and Rowan entered the room followed, to their surprise, by Pierce.

“Hi!” Ashlyn stood up. “Everything all right?” she added, seeing their serious expressions. “Found my sister?”

“Not yet, but we're on it,” said Rowan. “No, someone answered to my pleads to find you a master who can teach you to dominate your abilities better.”

“Cool! A Fireshark?”

“Unfortunately, I didn't manage to contact any. It's possible that, since they live in the southern coats, the message didn't reach them. But you already know Pierce, right?” Rowan looked proudly at the man, who adjusted his glasses and smiled.

“Pierce is an elementalist?” Ali asked, surprised, before Ashlyn could.

“Not really, I'm a sorcerer,” Pierce explained. “But like Ashlyn, I have fire and water powers. Sorcerers are some of the most powerful gents you may ever meet, alongside wizards and witches, and of course, druids. We are a bit of both.”

“I couldn't think of anyone better to prepare you,” said Rowan. “Pierce is a direct descendant from, kid you not, Merlin the Wizard.”

“I thought Merlin wasn't re—,” Ashlyn interrupted herself. “Forget it, I didn't say anything. Great! So when do we start?”

“Now. We have no time to lose, Rowan already updated me, so while she focuses on finding your sister, we have a lot of work to do.”

Ashlyn nodded, putting her books aside. It was time to work.

  
  



	14. The fate in our hands

**Chapter 14: The fate in our hands.**

A few weeks later, Ali sat at the back gardens of the palace while Pierce and Ashlyn trained relentlessly, jumping around, doing acrobatics, throwing flames and water to one another... Pierce was giving Ashlyn the beating of her life, throwing her up in the air with his great power, shouting out lessons and encouragement, but being merciless, because if she had an evil twin, she wasn't going to be merciless with Ashlyn either, and she probably had the support of dark creatures. The creatures of the light seemed to be hiding, although Pierce was trying to reunite them in case there was war. Rowan had recently left on a trip to pursue a lead to find Ashlyn's long-lost twin, so they were solo.

At last, Pierce threw Ashlyn away once more, and she flipped in the air before falling with a thud and a groan.

“Ouch...” Ali grimaced.

“I'll give you a break,” said Pierce, finally relenting after hours. He used a towel to dry his sweaty forehead and straightened his glasses, handing Ashlyn a hand to help her onto her feet. “You just have to control the energy better. Don't let it just blow.”

“Right,” Ashlyn nodded, breathless, and walked to Ali, who sat by a table with a jaw of water and glasses. The princess handed her a glass. “Thank you.”

“Ashlyn! Ashlyn!” they looked up and saw Rowan was running to them with an anguished expression. “I've got bad news, terrible news!”

“What is it, dear? Take a breath,” said Pierce, putting a hand on her shoulder as she finally reached them.

“I found the other twin. There's no doubt, they're almost identical, she doesn't have tattoos though... name's Aisha.”

“She's in the dark, isn't she?” Ashlyn asked, paling, and Rowan nodded.

“I found out she had been left in the sacred village of Allegra, an ancient village of farmers just up north. She should've lived a happy life, but apparently, ten years ago the village was devastated by dark creatures.”

“What? But we never heard anything,” said Ali.

“You were a child, princess. It was communicated to your parents, but since it was the work of supernatural creatures, there was nothing they could do. Anyway, it appears they kidnapped Aisha, and they brainwashed her. Got her to be a part of them. I've seen Aisha burn to death a child just because she was practising her powers, Ashlyn, she's already training to kill you. She's evil. Truly evil. And incredibly powerful. She's got no mercy, her fire is black like carbon, and she throws streams of black water that could drown whole armies. I've seen her make tornadoes of water. They call her the Master of the Dark, she's been granted the maximum powers of the dark.”

“So we've got no chance,” Pierce scowled. “Ashlyn hasn't been granted the maximum powers of the light, and we don't even have the other creatures of the light, they're too scared. They must've heard of Aisha, that's what keeps them hidden.”

“I'm afraid so,” Rowan swallowed. “We're dead. We're all dead.”

They stood in shocked silence for a long moment and Ali looked up at Ashlyn, who had gone white and was shaking her head. At last, Ashlyn spoke.

“Can't you prepare some beverage to strengthen my powers?”

“No,” said Pierce. “This is a one on one battle. Nothing we could give you would be challenge for the Master of the Dark. Don't you understand, Ashlyn? The Master of the Dark gets the powers from the Devil himself.”

“How do I get God's powers? Become the Master of the Light?” Ashlyn inquired tensely.

“You can't! The Devil is real, Ashlyn, he lives in the underground where he cannot reach us, and he cannot be brought up to the surface unless you lose, because the strength of the light is too great, but God as such isn't,” said Rowan. “God is love. The strongest force on Earth is love, don't you see? Evil makes someone push an innocent down a cliff, love makes someone stand between an innocent stranger and a bullet. Which one's harder?”

“To love others more than yourself. To give your life for a complete stranger,” Ashlyn admitted, and Rowan nodded.

“Exactly! It's way easier to be evil and become the Master of the Dark than to be so good and so pure to be the Master of the Light. We haven't had masters like that since... Jesus?”

“The last time there was a war like this, similar, was in the beginning of the humankind, and it was so great and so brutal that at last the forces of the Universe who rule the universal balance decided the Devil and his most powerful allies should be bound to the underground until a Master of the Dark freed him. Since then, there have been attempts, several Dark Masters... but we had Jesus, or Noah, or many others to do so much good unintentionally that they never stood a chance,” Pierce added. “This now could signify the end of the universe.”

“Wait, I just have to make a big sacrifice, right? I'll go to a warzone and fight off terrorists,” Ashlyn shrugged. “If I save enough innocent lives, I should become the Master of the Light, right?”

“No,” said Rowan, “no, because the Universe will take it not as a selfless thing, but as a desperate attempt to gain power, greed.”

“That's one of the reasons it is so hard to become the Master of the Light,” said Pierce. “The ones who have managed did so because they didn't know what they were. They thought themselves prophets of God so they did good because they thought it was their mission, not knowing what it'll mean, and therefore, their actions never passed as greed.”

Ashlyn shook her head and kicked a chair away out of anger, releasing a guttural scream of anger. She could feel her energy beating in her chest, threatening with exploding, until... Ali's hands held one of hers and her soft lips brushed against Ashlyn's cheeks.

“Don't give up just yet. We can find a way to make it work.”

Her rage vanished instantly as she looked into Ali's kind eyes.

“I have to kill the only biological family I have left,” Ashlyn murmured. “I have to kill my own flesh and blood. I've never even killed anyone.”

“I know, love,” Ali caressed her cheek softly, looking sad. “We'll come up with a plan. We'll find the way to win this.”

Having received such devastating news, and knowing it was a matter of time before Aisha came for her, Ashlyn decided it was time to go on an expedition to try and find the power she wasn't going to find in the palace, and, hopefully, find her biological family. She refused any help, any company. Just like Jesus had walked in the desert for forty days with its nights, Noah had to save the Jews of Egypt, and basically every other Master of Light had to do _something_ , she commanded herself to renounce technologies and part on a mission. She didn't know where to, or what for, but she'll follow the way her heart marked, and hopefully, she'd find herself in the process, and all she needed to win this war.

“How long will you be gone?” Ali asked, standing as Ashlyn finished packing just one backpack.

“I don't know,” said Ashlyn, “until I'm ready, or until Aisha finds me. At least you won't be in danger if I'm gone.”

“I'll miss you every day.”

“I'll miss you too. But—,”

“You have to do this.”

Ashlyn nodded. She closed her backpack and grabbed a knife she used to cut off her long braid, and give it to Ali, who looked surprised.

“It's not easy to care for long hair in the wild. Now you'll have something to bury if I don't come back,” Ali scowled sadly. “And keep the cloak. It'll keep you safe, I need you to be safe.”

“Ash—,”

Ashlyn shut her up with a kiss, wrapping her arms tight around her.

“Let's not argue now,” Ashlyn pleaded, caressing her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too. But you promised to come back...”

“I want to. But sometimes... maybe I'll only be able to come back in spirit, my love.”

Ali swallowed and tried not to cry, nodding. She felt immensely sad, and she held Ashlyn close for a moment, until they had to go.

Outside, their families and some palace personnel waited to bid Ashlyn farewell, not knowing when they'd cross paths again.

“Bon voyage, sweetheart,” Ken hugged her tightly. “I wish you all the best.”

“Thanks Ken.”

“We love you,” Debbie hugged her too. “Come back soon.”

“I'll try,” Ashlyn smiled at her small and then hugged Kyle.

“I'll take care of them,” he whispered to her ear. “Do what you have to do, sis.”

“Thank you,” Ashlyn separated, looked gratefully at her and then hugged her own brother.

“Best of luck, Ash. You won't need it tho,” Chris patted her back. “I'll look after our tribe.”

“Take care of yourself too,” Ashlyn squeezed him and then let him go to hug her parents. “I love you guys.”

“We love you too,” said Mike, hugging her close. “Stay safe. Don't trust just anyone. Eat.”

“And bundle up, it's cold,” Tammye zipped up her jacket and squeezed her cheek softly. “We always knew you'd do great things.”

Ashlyn sighed, shrugging.

“I'm just trying to be who you raised me to be.”

“Just follow your instincts, they never fail,” said Mike.

“And remember what you're not,” added Tammye. “And if you need help...”

“I'll ask for it,” Ashlyn smiled small. “I know.”

She turned around and the air left her lungs as she looked at Ali, who smiled sadly at her before they hugged.

“Don't do anything I wouldn't do,” said Ali hugging her tight. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Be safe, okay?” Ashlyn kissed her temple and let her go, not without a kiss on the lips. “When you look at the moon at night, you'll be seeing the exact same thing I'll be seeing, and you'll know I'm not that far away.”

Ali nodded, keeping her tears at bay. She then took a silver ring off her thumb, where it always was, and put it on Ashlyn's thumb.

“That way you won't forgive me.”

“As if I could,” Ashlyn grinned at her and kissed the ring on her thumb.

Taking a deep breath, she walked away and didn't look back until she had walked a few metres. Then she looked and waved at her family, who waved back, before turning back towards the castle doors and this time, never looking back again.

  
  



	15. Ohana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Means family

**Chapter 15: Ohana.**

January led to February, that came and went. On Valentine's Day Ashlyn made sure to make a big bouquet of colourful flowers she tied together with some vines from the rainforests in the East, and found a messenger who was going to the capital and didn't mind handing the flowers to the Princess with the message that they were from Sharkie, a nickname Ali had sometimes used with Ashlyn in their childhood. The messenger considered it an honour, and Ashlyn felt better knowing her love would have a present from her.

By the time the spring started to really be felt, Ashlyn had been gone for about seventy days, had had walked around most of the country. She camped to sleep, used her knowledge of the wild to get by, bathed in the ocean and the rivers, and avoided the areas where she felt bad energy. She never woke up with a day's plan, and just walked wherever her blistered feet decided to take her, walking up to sixteen hours a day. She found some magical creatures along the way, kind people who would help her or give her food and water, and some tribes that would teach her things of their tribes.

At last, on a sunny spring morning, she was following a river through the forests of the south-east, miles and miles outside a couple big cities, when the river broke into a waterfall at a cliff by the ocean, and she stopped, jaw-dropped, to take in the beautiful sight under the dark blue sky. Her skin was quite tanned after so many hours of sun, and her hair had started to grow back, but she wasn't too exhausted. Then her eyes looked below at the coastline and she saw some smoke as that from a bonfire.

Curious, Ashlyn looked down and closed her eyes to avoid vertigo before taking a leap and, as she approached the waters below, they raised to form a mattress for her and take her to the coastline.

“Thanks,” Ashlyn said to the waters as she leaped onto the sand. An open lake formed below the at least twelve metre waterfall, mixing with the water from the ocean. The smoke came from under an arch the cliff formed naturally by the 'lake', an arch big enough for people to walk through it, like a natural tunnel.

Walking through it, she was met with a large beach forming an almost closed gulf, with large expanses of sand in front of her until the coastline, the entire expanse covered with different cabins like those she had dreamed of, of wood and hay or straw. It seemed like a very tiny village, and smoke came from fireplace's towers protruding from the short ceilings of the cabins and cottages. People walked around in bathing suits or with clothes similar to the traditional Atlantic wear she used for formal occasions.

“Aleke!” shouted a toddler suddenly, standing naked in the sand and pointing at her. “Aleke! Aleke!”

Then all the village seemed to turn towards her and a young blonde-haired man who stood shirtless wearing only trousers walked fiercely towards her, with a fit, athletic body, with a colourful tattoo on his left side, but she didn't step back, confused.

“You!” he pointed a fierce finger towards her. “Get out of here, intruder!”

Ashlyn noticed then the necklace he had around his neck. It was the same shark she had and, as she paid attention, she saw everyone there had it. So not knowing what to say, she dived a hand into her shirt and pulled out the necklace for him to see. He stopped immediately and frowned.

“Who did you steal that from?” he roared.

“No one,” replied Ashlyn. “It was given to me by my parents.”

“Your parents? Who?!”

“I don't know. My parents died when I was a baby. I was raised by an adoptive family at the capital. I learned what the necklace meant and who I am at the library, and have been wandering around trying to find my people. Are you the Firesharks then?”

His scowl relaxed slightly and he nodded, walking more calmly until he stood in front of her, a head taller. He looked intently into her eyes with his blue eyes. Ashlyn saw his face was covered with stubble, and his skin was tanned from the sun.

“What do you want?” he murmured at last.

“Nothing. I just want to know my people. My family is... ordinary. They love me, but they cannot help me understand the abilities I've only recently learned. They were asleep, until recently.”

He nodded slowly.

“Well, I don't know if you've heard but this isn't a good moment, and you won't need your powers anyway. The ocean has been saying the Dark Master has risen, and since we haven't heard about a Light Master, we're all dead. It's just a matter of time.”

“I admire your optimism,” Ashlyn snorted sarcastically. “You know, you might have given up, but I haven't. I am the Master of Light. That's why I am here. To become such and kick that bitch's ass for good.”

The man blinked rapidly and then he laughed.

“Do you think it's that easy? You feel brave or are just stupid? Not any person can stand up and claim the part. It chooses you. And it's chosen someone who's not that strong, it seems.”

“It chose me, I am telling you. I am the Master of Darkness' twin sister, Ashlyn,” said Ashlyn, frowning. The man looked suddenly amazed.

“It cannot be... you... it cannot be...”

“I was born on a blue October. I'm twenty-one. I was separated from Aisha at birth, as our parents left us in different places to double the chances of finding a good person for at least one of us. I was found by a humble, loving, kind family, and Aisha, for what I've heard, was found by villagers who were also great, but the problem was, a decade ago dark creatures destroyed her village and captured her, turning her to their side. A friend of mine saw how she killed an innocent baby and her black fire burned everything. She has the devil's power. She's lost her soul and her humanity. But I've been trying so hard to become who I am meant to become, and I will end her, but I can't do this alone. I need you guys. Turn your back on me now and we're doomed.”

The young man didn't react for a moment and Ashlyn prepared to turn around, but just as she was about to do so, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. All of the sudden she realized he was crying.

“You've come back home!” he sobbed out. “You came back!”

“I...” Ashlyn patted his back awkwardly. “Of course? I mean, I didn't expect to find you, I had no idea where you were and I've been walking around for over seventy days but... yeah.”

“Ashlyn!” the man took her face between his arms and grinned at her up close. Suddenly his face seemed oddly familiar. “I am your cousin! Corey!”

“My cousin?” Ashlyn grinned. “I didn't know I had a cousin!”

“You do! There's family here... and we've been waiting for you. We had hopes of getting Aisha too but...” he looked saddened for a second, and then shook his head, smiling sadly at her. “We'll take what we can get. Welcome home.” He hugged her again and this time, she hugged him back tightly. She already felt more powerful than she ever did, surrounded by her tribe. “Come in, I'll introduce you to everyone.”

He pulled an arm around her shoulders and walked her inside. Ashlyn beamed.

“How many of us are left? Mum and Dad?”

“I'm sorry, Ash. They never came back,” Corey sighed. “I was five when the darkness came here. They were Devil Slaves, I believe. I think they possessed the Chief of our Tribe, turned him against us... and our own fire, possessed by the devil, is devastating for us. He decimated the tribe. We separated in the chaos and wandered the country for years, looking for a new place to settle, somewhere safe... at last we were able to return home, and we re-encountered old friends and relatives we had been separated from who also came back. But not Uncle Aiden and Aunt Eowen.”

Ashlyn stopped in her tracks and looked up at him, astonished.

“Aiden and Eowen? Those were my parents' names?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears suddenly. Corey looked confused.

“You didn't know?”

“I've known nothing until... about Christmas. I didn't even know I was adopted. My family raised me with a brother and by the time I was old enough to be told, they thought it'd only make me feel more like a stranger, because the kids already... bullied me. Called me weirdo. I did weird stuff I didn't understand, no one knew what I was. And then recently I was attacked and it somehow awoke the powers I had ended up suppressing. A druid and a sorcerer are all the magical people I know, family friends who have been helping me and uncovering stuff with me... but I've known very little of my family. Only knew of Aisha early this year, when one of them found her. Corey, why did no one look for me?”

“Ashlyn, I'm sorry... look, we all tried our best to find each other but... in the chaos of the attack, no one saw where Eowen and Aiden had ran off to. We had all known of the legend, we knew it was their twins, you guys had just been born an hour before, that night of October 19th. And it was so dark in the night, here it's the middle of nowhere, not a light... my Dad, Eowen's big brother, he's tried to find them for ages but...” he shook her head. “This kingdom is so big, we didn't even know if they had taken you underwater with the mermaids or where. Here, Jenson! Jenson, my boy!”

Corey called a little toddler of those playing by the shore. He had very little hair, blonde, and brown eyes, and he was playing with the sand. Corey effortlessly picked him up and grinned at Ashlyn.

“He's yours?” Ashlyn asked, chuckling as the boy gave her a toothless gargle.

“Yes, my son Jenson James Tunsan. My pride and joy,” he suddenly looked saddened. “You have to win now, Ashlyn. Otherwise...” he looked pleadingly. “I can't let them take him.” Ashlyn nodded, caressing Jenson's cheek. He was warm from the sun.

“I won't let anything happen to him,” Ashlyn promised. “How old is he?”

“He was just born in January. Our first,” said Jenson. “He's just a huge boy, quite literally. Not the best time to have a kid, but...”

“Are you kidding? We need all of us we can get.”

“I'll introduce you to the others, you must be dying to meet them.”

“Hold on, Corey, you mentioned your surname is Tunsan... I know myself as Ashlyn Michelle Harris, but do I have like... a name here? A different one I should know?”

“Well, as far as I'm concerned, Auntie and Uncle Aiden never got to give you middle names. They only knew your names had to be Aisha and Ashlyn, because the ocean said so, but your surname here is Marlow. Means remnants of a lake, see? We have sort of a lake around the corner.”

Ashlyn nodded to herself. Ashlyn Marlow. Had some ring to it.

Inside a cabin, Ashlyn was introduced to Corey's sister Casey, who was only nineteen, blonde and beautiful, Corey's wife Brittany, a gorgeous brunette who made Jenson laugh with ease, Corey's father James -his mother had been killed at the attack-, and Nana Eunice, Ashlyn's maternal grandmother. Her father's side was, they explained, of dark Elementarists, and they didn't even know if they were alive.

They sat around the table like old friends after affectionate hugs were given, and Nana Eunice and James filled the table with drinks and freshly-cooked sardines. Ashlyn, whose diet since she had left had been quite humble, soon ate two sardines and was encouraged to have more. She learned this was the Gulf of Satellite, and had been their home for centuries.

“No one trusted Aiden at first, when he arrived,” said James as Ashlyn devoured her third sardine. He looked a lot like the woman Ashlyn had dreamed of, her mother. “He was just a boy, not even a teenager, and he claimed he had ran away from home. Apparently he was afraid of his own family. He and my sister hit it off from the start, were always together... so it wasn't strange she ended-up marrying really young, at eighteen. And she had you with twenty-four years. She was so excited about motherhood...” he sighed sadly and shook his head. “Both of them were. Damn good people, both of them. Aiden was the gentlest, most protective man I've met. He valued his Fireshark family above it all else.”

Ashlyn, who had listened in silence, fascinated and happier than she remembered being in a while, finally spoke.

“Is there like, two of everything? Like, a good Fireshark tribe, an evil one...”

“Oh, no. We're just one. But not fire and water elementarists are from our tribe. Many belong to other tribes,” Grandma Eunice answered, caressing her hair, that didn't quite reach her shoulders yet. “God, you're so beautiful, I see so much of your parents in you. You've got your father's same kind eyes. The exact same. Tell me, love, did that other family of yours treat you well? Have they been loving to you, good?”

Ashlyn grinned and nodded.

“They've been great, they still are. They live in a cottage inside the grounds of the castle in Anderwen, near the palace, and aside from their normal jobs, they have palace duties. Dad is in the special forces, but he's Your Majesties' Royal Guard, so he's always busy at the palace. Mum is a sales' rep, but she's the Queen's best friend. Both of them are really close friends with the Kriegers, actually. My brother Christopher, he's older than me, he works the Royal Stable, he's got a special hand with animals. And since our family is so close to the Kriegers, we're always together. Chris grew up with their son, and I grew up with their daughter, the Princess. She's actually...” Ashlyn blushed and shrugged. “My girlfriend.”

“Oh, she kept it quiet,” Corey grinned. “You'll have to introduce her to us. Rubbing shoulders with the right people, smart girl.”

“I actually really love Ali. She's special. Maybe not special like we are, but... she's got a unique heart of gold. She'd love to meet you all, she's spent so many hours with me at the library, learning from our tribe.”

“If you love her, fight for her,” said James. “Wars you're forced into are always easier if you find a good reason to fight them.” Ashlyn nodded, appreciative.

“So will you help me?” asked Ashlyn.

“Girl, we've never been ones to turn away from a good party,” said Brittany, and she winked at her.

That night, Ashlyn slept at the cottage where Grandma Eunice lived. All of the cottages and cabins were very closed together, but this one had a room free for her, a room where her mother had lived in her youth, and where, she was told, she and her twin had been born. She felt her heart so full here, and she slept like never before in her life, in absolute peace.

  
  



	16. Family lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anything in particular you'd like to read about, I always accept suggestions and petitions, by the way. I'm always writing, and ideas are always welcomed.

**Chapter 16: Family lessons.**

Every day she learned something new, and they poured their efforts into teaching her everything they knew in record time. Grandma Eunice knew it all about recipes, potions, and everything that could be made in a kitchen. She knew craftsmanship and medicine as well. Uncle James taught her all about meditation, energy, connecting with your surroundings and listening to the environment around you and to the elements. Corey knew all about the arts of the war, from physical fight to control of the fire and water, and even a little of the other elements. Casey taught her about the plants of the forests and what each could be used for, some were curative, others were for potions, others were poisonous, others could literally save your life, and she knew them all. And Brittany taught her about the village and its people, how to connect with all of them, what their problems were, and had her work for the village, resolving every matter she could, listening to the lonely, helping the elderly and the children, and giving an extra hand wherever needed. And when there was time to have fun, she learned to surf without a board, played with her newfound nephew, did the fire dance, and discovered the underwater world where mermaids would either try to befriend her or mistrust her, depending on the day.

“Uncle James,” Ashlyn asked her eight day there, trotting to her uncle at the beach. She had grown used to wearing little clothes and getting tanned, and was feeling three times more energetic than ever and more full of power since being at the village. “I was wondering, is there any way I could send a letter to my loved-ones in Anderwen?”

James stopped playing with Jenson for a moment and looked at her, then nodded.

“Do they have a fireplace?”

“Yes, several.”

“Well, you have to write the letter, fold it until it fits inside your closed fist, wrap your other fist around it and let the energy of the fire accumulate in your hands. As it starts to burn, you need to really focus and envision the fireplace you want it to get to. The letter will burn in your hands, but be spit out of said fireplace, no matter if it's turned on or not.”

“How do I know it worked?”

“The flames will turn blue.”

Ashlyn grinned.

“Thanks Uncle!” she ran back to the cottage and took the paper she had asked her grandmother for, and a pencil. Because the village was far from town and cities, they had to resort to the old fashioned way; a quill and, for ink, they took it from the squids.

_My dearest Alexandra,_

She started writing.

_I'm writing you with squids' ink! You don't know how happy I am, my love, how blessed. I have found my village, several days ago, in fact, but until now I didn't know how to let this letter get to you. In case this letter falls on wrong hands, I can't tell you it all, such as the exact location, but I can tell you it was the happiest of accidents. Turns out I still have some family left and they told me my birth parents were named Aiden and Eowen Marlow, and even though they think them dead, I still have people here who have been waiting for me all this time, and who love me. They already knew about Aisha when I got here, and what she's done, so they had lost hopes on her, but always hoped I'd drop by one day. And they are incredible! They're loving, warm, gentle, kind... for the first time I look around me and I see eyes similar to mine, similar likes and behaviours, even similar tics I hadn't even realized I had. I'm not even the only left-handed anymore. Some of my relatives are left-handed too._

_They've been teaching me things non-stop. They're determined to fight alongside me, and have been trying to teach me all they know. Here, I finally feel physically 100%. I'm strong and more powerful and energetic than ever, and never did I sleep so well. One of my relatives explained we're all bloodbound to this place, and we all need to spend some time here at least once in our lives, preferably in our baby years, so our 'special abilities' reach their full potential, and so we don't become ill, as I used to. Apparently, since they all had to run away when we were attacked on my birth day, others suffered the same issue I had, and eventually they all had to manage to return, once the land was clear again, to avoid the weakening of the tribe -although this is more like a village, I'd say!-._

_My family has wanted to know all about where I come from, who are my family and friends at home, and once I knew I could trust them, I told them about Mum, Dad, Chris... and your family and how much I love you! They were so happy, like you wouldn't believe, and so relieved, to know my life had been happy. They know I won't stay here forever, but they said once all this shit is over, I should return with you all, so you could meet each other. I already know you would love them._

_I'm sorry I haven't been able to contact you in all this time, but know I'm well and happy, and send all my love to everyone. Tell them there's hope. Tell them I'm getting there. Tell them I won't stop until we've won. I can't afford to lose. And tell them I'll come back home sooner than you think._

_And how have you been? I miss you so much! No night has passed without me looking at the moon and thinking of you so hard I could almost touch you. I truly hope life at palace continues to be happy and good for you, and that you're feeling well. I hope all is okay at home. I do not forget a single one of you, not even the staff!_

_See you soon. Yours,_

_Ash._

_P.D.: No idea how you could send me a reply, but remember I can hear the rivers... and if that doesn't work out, don't worry, 'cause we'll meet each other again soon. For now, I'm just happy you'll hear from me._

Next, she did as told, and it seemed to work. The letter disappeared in a bunch of blue flames, and she had a good feeling it reached the destiny.

A few days more passed and Ashlyn was growing more powerful and stronger, able to dominate her abilities better. Corey was always praising how quickly she was catching up and becoming an elemental skilled way beyond average for her age. It only fuelled Ashlyn to work harder. On one morning at dawn, Ashlyn was awoken by her grandmother to go pay respects to the Gods of the elements.

“Gods?” Ashlyn asked as she followed her grandmother up a steep staircase of rocks up the cliff. “I thought we didn't have Gods and temples like the others, Nana.”

The old woman, who seemed to have the energy of a young athlete, was way ahead of her.

“Not like the others, sunshine, it's not a religion or anything, but we're very spiritual. If you want the elements to respect you, you must respect them.”

Ashlyn nodded and finally they reached the top and between the thick bushes and the trees appeared a small round platform of white rock, with tall posts of marble around the edges, and a round ceiling of plants. In the middle of the platform there was what seemed like a round sink without tap, supported on a thick short column. Coming closer, Ashlyn saw the sink recipient seemed to be divided in four sections.

“Aed, goddess of fire,” said Nana Eunice, creating a ball of fire she put in one of the sections, “Lir, god of water,” she continued, filling another section with water magically, “Mielikki, goddess of earth,” she pulled a fistful of sand from her pocket and put it inside another section, “and Njord, god of the air.” She took a tiny empty glass bottle and put it in the last section.

“Wow,” Ashlyn whispered, staring.

“Now take my hands,” Eunice said, and she did as told, their arms surrounding the recipient now. “And now you really have to feel grateful and speak from the heart. Elements do not tolerate dishonesty.”

“Why don't they punish dark elementalists?”

“Honey, the Gods don't punish nor make presents, they don't have human mentality. But they do perform better to those who are grateful to their power, and you'll be surprised how many in the dark are.”

Ashlyn nodded and closed her eyes, focusing. What could she be grateful for? She felt a little stupid standing there in front of some elements. But she made an effort and really concentrated.

“Aed, I'm thankful for your fire that warms the houses of my family,” she begun. “Njord, I'm thankful for your wind that helps the sailors in their travels, “Lir, I'm thankful for your water, that calms my thirst and allows life, “and Mielikki, I'm thankful for your earth where you grow life incessantly, with your forests to shield us and feed us, and your flowers to make the land a little more beautiful. And I'm extra thankful I get to have a special connection with you and you let me use your power to do good.”

“Good job,” Eunice smiled proudly. Ashlyn opened her eyes and saw the elements had disappeared.

“Where did they go?”

“Our Gods accepted our presents,” said Eunice. “Returned them to the wild where they belong.”

It would be Ashlyn's last day there before she parted back home alongside Corey, Casey and James, who would fight alongside her along with some new friends Ashlyn had found in the tribe, such as Liz. Brittany would stay back to look after Jenson and protect him if things got ugly, and Nana Eunice was too old for such wars. So once they returned to the village, Ashlyn went to search for Corey, who was fishing, as usual.

“Corey, what's that tattoo about?” Ashlyn asked, as she pointed to the colourful tattoo on his side. It contained blue waves, colourful Atlantic flowers, red fire, green forests, butterflies, and what seemed like runes. “I've seen many in the tribe have it.”

“Oh, this? It's one of the tribe marks... not everyone gets it, partially because it's... well, burn into the skin. Not funny,” he said with a smirk. “But I just loved it so much. Represents our elements and, more importantly, how our home is. The plants and trees we can see, if you look closely you'll even see our waterfall. It's done with magical fire from the Firesharks, a gift from the Gods, ancient as time. It won't give you anything special for your powers, but... some of us carry it as a remembrance of home.”

“Can I... get it done?”

Corey looked surprised.

“I just said it literally burns your skin, painfully, because it's a magic tattoo and that fire does hurt. And it won't ever vanish.”

“So?” Ashlyn shrugged. “Aisha will give me worst pains, I assume. I just... it always called my attention, it's so beautiful and... it'll make me think of home once I leave.”

“All right,” Corey smiled. “We'll do it tonight, at the ceremony.”

As a gift from the tribe, Ashlyn was getting the adulthood ceremony they did to the ones who reached eighteen, as a way to welcome them into the adult section of the tribe, and wish them luck in their adventures. It was nothing too special but to Ashlyn, it meant the world.

So when the night came, they cooked seafood and made salads with their plants, drank local beverages and toasted in Ashlyn's honour. They did the fire dance and 'blessed' Ashlyn with salt water from their beach, and there was laughter and joy. At last came the moment Ashlyn most wished for, her new tattoo. She shamelessly removed her shirt and bra and Corey covered her side with an ointment made of local herbs and sea water.

“You will want to bite something,” said James, handing her the shirt she had just discarded to bite. Ashlyn did so, deciding it was better to obey, and he held her arms up firmly so she wouldn't try to slap Corey, or burn anyone accidentally. Apparently once a young boy had been in such pain he had accidentally set a cabin on fire, and since they were more careful.

“Ready?” Corey said, rubbing his hands together. Ashlyn nodded and he hovered his hands over the ointment. And then she felt the intense burning pain and clenched her teeth on the shirt, screaming to her insides for a long moment until the pain vanished and she looked down. The ointment had disappeared and instead was a big beautiful tattoo covering her left side. Ashlyn spit out her shirt and freed her arms, grinning.

“Awesome!”

The tribals laughed.

“This woman is nuts,” said Corey with an amused chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,  
> I am updating some stories now, I'll slowly update more and more the next few days. I'm very sorry for the delay, I've just been writing stuff, relaxing, reconnecting with my mother as I didn't live in my hometown since last Autumn, and well, with myself.  
> So first things first, thanks everyone for all your comments and support, always. I think I've responded all comments and also I've been talking with some of you in my Tumblr Jantebellum, which has been really nice so if you've never left a comment or chatted with me in Tumblr come say hi, I don't bite :) also I wanted to invite you all to read this post I wrote https://jantebellum.tumblr.com/post/616297711696822272/my-take-on-ao3-and-fanfics it's a bit long but in it I'm talking about my writing process with fanfics, about my beliefs in fanfiction and about Archive of our Own, so you might find it interesting. And I know you're shy and I'm shy but PLEASE hit me up with any sort of conversation. Now that we're all so isolated, I really want to reach out to all of you, make sure you're all doing okay, bring my support and encouragement to you and hey, it's going to be okay, uh? This is just those dramatic ten chapters I always write but remember, the story always ends okay, even when you think there's no way. And if you feel lonely or anything, I'm here.  
> Much love everyone.  
> J.


	17. Like a phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://jantebellum.tumblr.com/post/616566533139873792/thank-you

**Chapter 17: Like a phoenix.**

Euphoria filled Ashlyn's chest as she trotted happily up the hill to the castle, followed by Corey, James, Casey, Liz, and a few other Firesharks she had befriended. The goodbye had been heartfelt and sad, but now joy burned in her chest again at seeing the place she called home. She guided the small group up the hill, past the opened castle doors and, seeing smoke coming from the chimney tower in her house, she went in that direction, already grinning as she saluted citizens that also worked or lived in the castle.

“If you don't mind,” said Ashlyn to the group. “We won't all fit in the house. It's tiny.”

“We'll wait outside, you go with your family,” said Liz with a cheerful smile. The others nodded and Corey followed Ashlyn into the humble cottage.

Ashlyn didn't see anyone in the living room.

“Guess who's home?!” she shouted into the house. She heard running steps and suddenly Ali was hugging her tight. “Hi, my love.” Ashlyn hugged her tight, but then Ali was crying, and separated, looking at Ashlyn who immediately felt pain in her heart.

“Baby, your mother was attacked by a sorcerer last night. She was just in the city and...” she took a deep breath to calm herself. “She's dying, Ash.”

Ashlyn's eyes widened and she felt her heart in her throat. She gently pushed Ali aside and ran inside, into her parents' bedroom. Ali's parents and brother sniffled silently standing by the door, and Pierce and Rowan were by Tammye's side as she lied on the bed, pale like the dead, with blood-soaked bandages covering her torso. Chris sat at the feet of the bed, sobbing, and Mike sat by the head of the bed, clutching his wife's hand, crying as well. Rowan and Pierce looked defeated and broken. Ashlyn and Ali's group of friends stood in a far corner, trying to stay composed and half failing.

“Mum,” Ashlyn blurted out, and everyone looked at her. There were steps as Ali and the Fireshark family walked into the room after her. “Mum...”

“Ash-lyn,” Chris managed between sobs, and rushed to hug her. “Thank heavens you're here... Mum's been waiting for you.”

“Ash?” Tammye whispered weakly, her eyes partially opening.

“Mum,” Ashlyn repeated, separating from her brother and running to her. Rowan and Pierce stepped back to let her come closer, and Ashlyn climbed on the bed, caressing her mother's cheek as she felt her eyes fill with tears, and grabbing her other hand with her free one. “Mum!” she looked at all the blood. “What have they done to you?!”

“It was a fireball,” Mike chocked out. “Went through her...”

“She begged us to buy her time, to see you,” said Rowan in a broken whisper. “But we can't buy her more...”

“I thought you could heal everything!” Ashlyn shouted at her, and the druid shook her head sadly.

“Not when she's too far gone, sweetie.”

“We'll help,” Corey came closer, followed by his sister. “Ash, our mother was a healer. Casey and I have healing powers.”

“Please help her,” Ashlyn begged, and the two siblings put their hands above the wound. A golden light illuminated the fresh blood for a long moment, and the blood seemed to disappear, but the wound didn't close.

“Just a little more...” Casey whispered. “Come on... Why isn't it doing, it, Cor?” Corey looked ashen and shook his head.

“We can't heal her if it's too far gone. We can't save the dead, Cas.”

They stopped and Ashlyn felt her chest clench painfully. Casey's eyes filled with tears, looking at her.

“I'm sorry...” Casey said.

“You tried,” Ashlyn sobbed out, and turned her attention to her mother, who looked weakly at her. Her eyes looked small without her glasses and her curls stuck to her skin, damp from sweat. “I'm so sorry, Mummy. I should've been here. I should've protected you.”

“You... are... the Master... of Light... you could... save... me...” the whisper was so weak, raspy and slow that it broke Ashlyn's heart further. She burst into crying and shook her head.

“No, Mummy... I'm not. I can't save you. I'm sorry...”

Tammye frowned weakly.

“Then... we've... lost...”

“No,” Ashlyn inhaled hard, and pressed her lips against her forehead, forcing herself to stop crying. “No, I'll come up with a plan. We'll win. I promise you we'll win. I won't let anything happen to anyone else.”

“Pro...mise...”

“I promise, Mum, I promise.” Ashlyn's lip trembled as she took her mother into her arms, surprised immediately by her lightness. She didn't care about the blood, she held her close, trying to comfort her into death.

“Ash...” the woman looked weakly up at her. “I'm... glad... you... f... found... y... your... fam... ly...”

“I was always with my family, Mum,” Ashlyn sobbed out. “This is home. This is family.”

As Tammye took a last breath and slumped dead, Ashlyn's tragic cries filled the room. She cried like she had never cried in her life. She cried with intense sadness and sorrow, but she also cried with anger, the utmost anger that her placing in that family had endangered her, that she had left so carelessly without thinking her sister would send people thinking she was still there, and above all, pure fury towards her destiny and towards the fact that she wasn't powerful enough to save her, nor had arrived sooner, so Corey and Casey could save her. She wished then, more than ever, that she had never been born, and then her biological relatives and mother would still be alive.

It was hours before she ran out of a lifetime of tears, but when she finally dried out, she stayed holding onto her mother, breathing heavily, wishing for a miracle, for a long time. At last, a gentle hand rubbed her back.

“Did they find the sorcerer? Did they kill him?” Ashlyn asked with a throat hoarse from the crying and, she suspected, even screaming, although she hadn't noticed herself much.

“He disappeared before we could find him,” came Ali's sweet, deep voice. She buried a hand in her hair and massaged her skull, making Ashlyn's tense muscles relax. “It's time, Ashlyn. Come with me. Let her go.”

“I can't...”

“Don't worry about her,” Ali said, placing a kiss on her shoulder from behind. “Rowan and Pierce will take care of her, and then we can bury her, give her the funeral she deserves. She's in peace now. She's safe. No one will hurt her no more.”

Ashlyn nodded and slowly lied Tammye down.

She didn't know how they got there, but eventually she sat naked in Ali's bathtub, in a warm bubbly bath with foam, and Ali washed her hair and trimmed her grown nails, rubbing the dirt off her from her travels and massaging her calloused feet. Ashlyn had a feeling Ali was talking to her, saying loving and soothing things, sometimes calming her and holding her, but she could barely feel any of it.

At last, she fell asleep in the warm comfort of Ali's bed and her embrace, but feeling that not even her love could repair her shattered insides.

Hours later, Ashlyn woke up feeling run down and drained. She had a migraine and prayed intensely Aisha wouldn't pick this moment to kill her, because it would be far too easy. The sun caressed her face warmly and her stomach grumbling, having missed dinner. As her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she saw Ali next to her, fully dressed and supporting her head on her hand, caressing her arm up and down. She smiled small at Ashlyn.

“Hi,” said Ali.

“Hi.”

“That sounds like you could use some food,” Ali commented as Ashlyn's stomach growled again.

“Or,” Ashlyn murmured, “I could just curl-up and stay here until Aisha kills me.”

“I thought you promised your mother not to let anything happen to anyone.”

“It's what she needed,” said Ashlyn. “But think about it. If we're dead, Ali, we can be together forever. In heaven. Where nothing will happen to us.”

Ali bit her lip and shook her head.

“Will you let your own child burn to death?” Ali murmured. Ashlyn frowned at her.

“I don't have a child. In fact, I don't really have much family left at all.”

“Ashlyn...” Ali looked at her nervously. “We didn't know, at first no one knew. But Rowan and Pierce spent hours and hours researching and they realized... female magical beings can conceive a child even without... without a man.” She looked up warily and Ashlyn's frown turned into scowl.

“Good? We'll go for it one day if you want? I hadn't really thought beyond today, given that we're all going to die.”

“Ash... we already went for it, don't you see?” Ali went on, looking deadly serious. “We had sex like rabbits for days before you left. We didn't know what could happen. I haven't had a period in months, and when you left I started getting nauseous and stuff and... Rowan and Pierce realized what had happened. Apparently the only trustworthy contraceptive with your kind is a potion.”

Ashlyn snorted in disbelief and sat up, trying to find the crack of laughter that would indicate Ali was fooling with her.

“You're joking.”

Ali sighed and lifted her blouse. Where normally would be a perfect six pack, now the lines had faded and there was a slight swell. Ashlyn's jaw dropped.

“Does this look like I'm joking?” Ali murmured. “I wanted to tell you, but... I didn't know how to reach you.”

“Alex, you're pregnant!” Ashlyn gasped. “Does your family know?”

“Everyone knows. They got worried sick when I couldn't keep my food down for days. Now it's better, thankfully.”

“And are you... do you want to have it?” added Ashlyn, staring at her in disbelief.

“I... yes. I mean... if you want to... Look, our parents were young when we were born, I've finished my education, I have money and a good position, we have a palace to raise this kid. If we survive all this hell,” said Ali, sitting up as well. “I was thinking of leaving soccer. I really like helping the country be greater and I'd like to focus on that. Get a PR job in the city, make sure our country is better... I don't see why I wouldn't be able to raise a child. I'm nearing twenty-three, anyway. It's not my ideal age for motherhood, but... I don't see the point of going through the hardship of an abortion when I do want this one day. But if you don't want it I'll... I'll abort it. I'll take one for the team and do it.”

Ashlyn was speechless. While her foggy brain did its best to process all that information, her mind kept telling her 'Ali's pregnant. Oh God Ali's pregnant', and eventually she found her words.

“Let's have it,” Ashlyn said at last, placing a gentle hand on the swollen belly. “I mean... we have to win now, right? For this little... do you know the gender yet?”

Ali shook her head with a little smile.

“I only know it's due in October like its mother. And that it'll be an elementalist, I'm sure.”

Ashlyn grinned smugly, leaning to kiss her, her sadness fading away for a moment.

“I know we're like, super young, and this probably will be trial baby but...” Ashlyn kissed her again. “I love you. And if I am ever to have a child with anyone, it has to be with you. Sorry I accidentally knocked you up though.”

“Don't be sorry. I've got a feeling that this is how we were meant to win. I don't know how, but this baby's going to change the game in our favour.”

“I really hope you're right. Otherwise... we're really screwed.”

Ali cupped her face and kissed her gently. Then Ashlyn held her tightly and clenched her teeth. Her sadness had led to bigger fury at the knowledge that one screw-up and the love of her life and their baby would be dead. Now she couldn't lose. If Aisha thought she had won, that Ashlyn would be too devastated to fight back, she was very wrong. She was going to raise from her ashes.

  
  



	18. A spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting to the end! thanks so much for hanging out with me here. And if you have any other krashlyn fanfic ideas please let me know 'cause i'm struggling for inspiration and i'll give credit ;D

**Chapter 18: A spark.**

Ali laughed as Ashlyn blew raspberries on her belly. She could feel some movement inside every time she did so, and Ashlyn loved just doing silly things to their unborn baby, talking with it and making silly voices. She'd even read bedtime stories that would put at least Ali to sleep in a couple minutes. It seemed like the spark of joy was the one thing they needed after Tammye's funeral.

“Who's the prettiest?” Ashlyn said with a playful voice, then blew another raspberry. “You are! Deep down there you're growing the prettiest nose, and the prettiest ears, and the prettiest face, and you're going to be a force to be reckoned with just like your Mama, you cute little baby, yes you—”

“All right Harris, back to work!” Corey shouted at her with a smirk, shaking his head.

“Ups, one sec before Uncle Corey gets mad at Mummy,” Ashlyn kissed the belly and then stood up again. “See you in a moment love,” she kissed Ali as well and ran back to Corey, Liz, Casey, James and Pierce. They stood in the garden fighting, and the others crowded with drinks on the backyard, enjoying the spectacle.

It was truly fascinating to see. Fire and water were thrown all over the place, sometimes even lightning or sparks, and people were flown in the air, or jumped higher than anyone else to punch each other. Everyone was bruised, but there was no mercy, save for the mini break Ashlyn had just taken as Ali joined the family in the backyard after a meeting. The Princess now leaned back in her chair, cupping her barely grown belly as she watched Ashlyn punch her uncle hard with sparks of flames coming from the hit.

“This looks better than a couple months back, I've got to say,” Kyle said sipping his drink and watching next to her.

“She's improved,” said Rowan with a hint of optimism, staring intently as she wrote down things that needed improvement, evaluating the fight.

Then all of the sudden, the fighters stopped fighting and looked down at a stream that crossed the garden, focused.

“Did you lose a nail?” Chris yelled jokingly, but Ali sensed something.

She stood up and trotted to Ashlyn, seeing the paleness on the faces of the group. She took her hand and pulled gently so Ashlyn looked at her, noticing her presence and swallowing.

“What's up?” asked Ali.

“It's the stream. It spoke to us,” said Ashlyn. “Aisha's voice.”

Ali frowned deeply.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” said James. “The elements can carry messages. This one was very clear.”

“It's time for war. Today at dusk,” said Ashlyn. “At the champions' circle, whatever that is.”

“It's a ruin in the Northern Forests,” said Pierce, coming closer. “It is believed the ancient kings and queens used to celebrate tournaments there, fighting tournaments. Nowadays it's just a popular tourist spot for those of us who aren't ordinary.”

“The ancient rules of the Gods dictate that the fighters must fight one-on-one, without any sort of weapon, and the winner takes it all. There won't really be a war,” explained Rowan, who had come closer as she heard what was happening. “The death of one warrior will automatically provoke the death of all the light beings, including non-magical livings, or dark beings. And Aisha will be forced to do as the rules dictate, because they're enforced by magic. Otherwise she cannot win.”

“Then it's time to go,” said Ashlyn, serious. “I have a bitch to kill.”

Preparations for the trip automatically begun. Ali refused to sit at home while everyone could potentially die, so she, Ashlyn's family, and the rest of Ali's family and their friends got ready to go too. While the preparations took place, Ashlyn meditated by the stream, connecting with nature and ignoring the chaos of preparations. But before they left, Pierce took her aside for one last conversation.

“You have to remember something, Ashlyn. It's not just about you winning,” said Pierce, putting an arm around her as they strolled by the stream. “It's about the values the light represents winning. Love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, justice, fair play, all those things should win. You cannot let your anger, your hatred win. You have to dissolve them like ashes, okay? Remember you're as capable as she is to turn to her side. You cannot have a hint of darkness during this fight.”

“How am I supposed to not be furious? To not want to kill her? Actually, how am I supposed to attack her and kill her lovingly?”

“Despite what the legend says, you control this. You can choose to spare her, Ashlyn,” said Pierce. “She will attack you like the devil, she'll cause as much pain as possible, but you can choose to forgive, to spare her life, and still defeat her and everything she represents. You can make more decisions than you think. Be a bloodthirsty, cold death machine, or a merciful warrior who only kills as a last resort. And you can treat her as the devil... or remember she's your own flesh and blood, your sister, your only relative alive who's closely related by blood, the daughter of your parents, an innocent child thrown into this like you who at eleven or twelve years was kidnapped and put through so much darkness it ended up absorbing her.”

Ashlyn stopped walking in realization, and for a moment, she did feel sorry for Aisha. She realized then this wasn't her fault, and she was being sent to die, possessed by the evil.

“I think I know what to do now.”

They marched north in SUV cars. Ashlyn could hear the nature around them screaming, scared, going more and more quiet the closer they were to their final destination. As the car finally stopped behind some trees, Ashlyn was suddenly terrified, feeling like a pig raised to die, and she felt her heart beat hard with rising anxiety.

“Hey,” Ali squeezed her hand, seeing her begin to hyperventilate. “It's okay. You're ready.”

“What if I fail? Oh, Ali, I'm not so powerful...”

“But you are,” Ali reassured her, holding her tight in the car, sitting together. “What's more powerful than love, uh? The love that has kept you safe for twenty-one years. The love that's given us the prospect of a baby, the love that brought your tribe here with you. You are ready. We will be there, with you, supporting you and encouraging you.”

“But what if...”

“Then we die, so what? Humanity ends here. Death is the next great adventure, love, and I am ready for it, if you are,” said Ali, smiling softly as she cupped her face. “We'll be together wherever we go. Heavens if they exist, or whatever. And it won't hurt for the rest of us. We'll just cease to exist, and it'll be fast. She may put you under great pain but...” she bit her lip lightly and kissed her tenderly. “It'll just be a moment. It'll end faster than you think. She won't want to play around much. Whatever happens, we will be together.”

Ashlyn nodded and held onto her for a long moment. The others left the cars and gave them a moment. Ali trailed her hand down her now short hair, trimmed a bit shorter in the last few days with an actual hairdresser for fighting to be more comfortable, and she rubbed soothing circles on her back. Ashlyn's hand rested on Ali's swollen belly and she felt like a kick, although she wasn't so sure. Seeing life trying to exist so badly inside Ali seemed to spark something in her and she felt suddenly at ease, calm, collected, and separated from Ali.

“I'm ready.”

As the last rays of sun disappeared, the champions' circle was only illuminated by flaming torches, and Ashlyn stood with her people on one side of it, staring at the other side. The moment darkness reigned, she saw black shadows appear and at least a couple dozen dark figures appeared, with one of them standing forward, stepping on the round rock platform that was the champions' circle.

Aisha was not an identical twin. She resembled her sister a great deal, but she was taller, thinner, almost scrawny. She had long hair pulled back in several braids, and a face longer than Ashlyn's. She was a strong warrior, wearing an armour, with red eyes and a cold smile of sharp teeth like a vampire. With a last squeeze to Ali's hand, Ashlyn stepped forward onto the circle, and stood in front of her fraternal twin. Aisha's smile grew as she looked at her like a hyena looks at its dinner, hungry, sending shivers down Ashlyn's back, and the dark creatures laughed seeing Ashlyn.

“My sister,” Aisha said, with a voice ten times colder than Ashlyn's, emotionless, and the Fireshark necklace hanging from her neck, “we finally meet.”

“The pleasure is all mine I believe?” retorted Ashlyn sarcastically.

“Look at that. The dead rat thinks she's fun! Was burying that woman fun?” Aisha said, and Ashlyn's jaw clenched, breathing deeply to avoid anger at all costs. _Be compassionate_ Ashlyn told herself _she's possessed by the devil. It's not her._

“We don't have to do this, Aisha,” said Ashlyn. “They don't get to put two sisters against each other, don't they? Come on. A piece of paper is not going to be the boss of us, and they've taken enough.”

“Oh no one forces me to do this. I want to kill you. I want to see you bleed...” she gave a threatening step forward.

“No, you don't. 'Cause I'm the only family you've got left, Aisha. Did Dad's family raise you the last ten years? Because how kind of them to push a kid to fight a war they won't move a finger for,” said Ashlyn. “Dad ran from them because he was a good man.”

“Dad was a coward! And he abandoned us. He left us...”

“To protect us! Because when you care about someone, you're willing to die for them! And you know who killed them? Mum and Dad? Do you know who's to blame for our separation, for your decade long of suffering? Look behind you. They did this to us. To you.”

Aisha laughed devilishly and waved a hand out, sending Ashlyn flying across the circle. It was like an invisible wall had risen around it, so Ashlyn collided against it and fell back on the rock with a thud and a groan.

“I don't want to talk anymore,” said Aisha. She threw a ball of fire to Ashlyn, who jumped and ran to avoid it.

“I'm not going to hurt my own flesh, one of the little parts of our parents left in this world. I'm your only family left, Aisha! We spent nine months together, we came to this world together and I will not hurt you now. What would Mum and Dad say if they saw us hurt each other, uh?”

Aisha laughed once more, but it sounded like pure devil, and she lazily sent another ball of fire towards Ashlyn, who avoided it narrowly.

“Shut up! I didn't come here to chitchat. I came here to kill. Die!” she sent another ball of pitch black fire, and this time it burned Ashlyn slightly as she ran to avoid it.

“But you will only win if you defeat me!” Ashlyn shouted at her. “Wasn't it the warrior's honour to win a hard-fought battle? In the ancient times, the tournaments that were played here, didn't they fight in equal conditions and the honour was for the better fighter?”

“I am the better fighter!”

“Are you? Because if I don't fight, you're alone. If I don't participate, then you will win without honour, isn't it? There's no merit on defeating someone who hasn't raised a hand against you, and your entire people will see. Do you think the ancient magic will work then? If I die on my own rules, do you think my people will really vanish? Because I think the Gods will see it as a win without honour or merit, and make you fight against my army.”

Aisha threw her head back with a dry laughter, and glared at her, running over to her and slapping her across the face. Ashlyn didn't try to defend herself and let her punch her hard on the belly. A drop of blood was already falling from a cut on her head, and now she hunched over and groaned, but didn't even push her back.

“What army, uh? WHAT ARMY IS GOING TO DEFEAT ME?!” she gripped Ashlyn's throat and Ashlyn looked pleadingly at her.

“The elements will not respect you. They will not work properly if you don't earn their respect, Aisha,” Ashlyn said raspy as Aisha gripped her throat with strength. “Don't you understand? The magic doesn't just come to you...” she said weakly.

“It seems it's working for me just fine, sissy,” Aisha glared at her, her hand starting to burn Ashlyn's throat. Ali could barely bring herself to watch. “It seems you're dying.”

“Aisha...” Ashlyn grunted, making an effort to breathe, her face turning purple. “I beg you... sister... you're not like this... you're a good person...”

“What do you know?!” Aisha threw her to the far side angrily, and Ashlyn fainted for one second as her head hit the ground. She knelt weakly, dizzy, with blood dripping from her nose. “You don't know me! I AM THE MASTER OF DARKNESS! I have the powers of Satan himself! Who are you to confront me?!”

“I am you,” Ashlyn said after a few coughs to clear her burning throat, standing up dizzily. “An orphan. A victim of the circumstances. A good, innocent person. Wanna see something?” She lifted her shirt, showing the tattoo, and Aisha glared at it. “Home. See? This is the waterfall by our house, where we were born,” she touched it on her skin, “the ocean where our baby nephew plays all the time. Our Nana grows fruits up in the cliff here... our parents fell in love playing here...”

Aisha seemed caught off guard, and scowled.

“NO! None of that exists no more!”

“It does! I've seen it Aisha, with my own eyes, and I'd want you to see it too. We could forget all this nonsense and go right now. Just you and I, like sisters,” Ashlyn insisted, walking carefully towards her.

“I SAW IT BURN!”

“Me too! But it grew back! They grew it back. You heard the screams of our people, like I did. You felt their pain. Can you feel it now, sissy?”

“No...” Aisha growled.

“I can take you out of the dark if you let me. We can choose our own future, Aisha. Not some legend. Us. We can recover the life that was stolen from us. There's hope, there's always hope.”

“SHUT UP!” Aisha sent an expansive wave of black boiling water that hit Ashlyn, throwing her backwards. Ashlyn felt her head collide against the ground and groaned in pain, feeling the burning water on her skin. “There's no hope left! ONLY DARKNESS! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL BRING DEVIL BACK!”

“And then what?!” Ashlyn shouted at her from the ground. “What then? When all of us are dead?! What do you earn, Aisha? To be the slave of Satan a little longer?”

“WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!” Aisha roared, fire enveloping her, and she was suddenly on Ashlyn, punching her relentlessly, bruising her, burning her and making her bleed. Aisha screamed in anger, lifting Ashlyn and throwing her effortlessly across the circle. This time when Ashlyn collided against the floor she didn't move.

  
  


  
  



	19. A tale of two girls

**Chapter 19: A tale of two girls.**

Ashlyn was sure she had several broken bones. She coughed blood and looked weakly up at Aisha.

“Kill me,” Ashlyn whispered weakly. “Go on. End the only family you've got left, I understand, it's okay. I know it's Devil speaking, not you.”

“Of course it's me! I am the Master! I am the most powerful creature on Earth!” the sky went black and thunder and lighting appeared at once. Filled with anger, Aisha raised her hands and made a tornado of dark water envelope Ashlyn, raising her in the air, drowning her. She smiled satisfied as Ashlyn tried in vain to scape the waters. “DIE!”

Finally the waters ceased and Ashlyn fell down with a thud and a creak of the rocks. Covered in blood and bruises, Ashlyn groaned in pain and rolled over into a ball.

“Come on Ashlyn!” Ali shouted. “GET UP!”

Slowly, Ashlyn stumbled to her feet and Aisha glared at her in disbelief.

“You should be dead! WHY DON'T YOU DIE!”

Ashlyn hugged herself, spitting blood out.

“Because I love my family too much to die,” Ashlyn said weakly. “There's nothing... more powerful than... love.” She thought of her Mum, managing to stay alive hours and hours, almost a full day, just to see her daughter once more. She thought of her biological parents, leaving everything behind to protect their daughters. She thought of her tribe, waiting for her for decades, hoping she'd come back.

“I will end that too...” Aisha growled angrily, frustrated, and in two steps was in front of her, grabbing her head between her hands. Ashlyn felt the heat of her hands, the agonizing burn, and screamed, making Aisha laugh. “CAN YOUR LOVE HELP YOU NOW? NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN ME!”

“No...!” Ashlyn held onto Aisha's shoulders, clenching her jaw at the boiling hot pressure. “I still love... I love... you. I forgive you... I forgive you, sister...” she screamed as the pain became too much and Aisha let her fall to her knees and then forward on her face. Ashlyn was struggling to breathe now, wheezing, bleeding, broken.

Suddenly, everything turned black. When Ashlyn woke up, everything around her was different. The sun was shining, and she was free of pain, of bruises, of blood. The people who she had learned to recognize as Aiden and Eowen Marlow stood next to her, and helped her to her feet. The two adults grinned at her and hugged her tightly, and Ashlyn almost cried at the feeling.

“Our sweet girl,” Eowen, as tall as she was, kissed her cheek and gripped her tighter. “I'm so glad one of you was saved... I couldn't lose you both.”

“But...” Ashlyn looked around as they separated. “Ali! Where is she? No... I have to go back! I have to protect her!”

“Don't worry, darling,” said Aiden, his voice deep and soft, caressing her cheek gently. “Time's stopped. This is a time-out. It's not over yet. But you can end it now, if you want. You're tired. You're hurting. We can make it all stop.”

“How?” Ashlyn asked.

“Come with us now. You'll see Ali again,” Eowen promised. “You'll both be safe. No one will hurt you again.”

“But if I go... the Devil wins.”

Eowen and Aiden looked sadly at her, and nodded. Suddenly, Ashlyn noticed a crying child hugging her knees and sitting on the floor not far.

“I don't want to die! It hurts!” the child cried out, looking at them with pleading blue eyes. She reminded Ashlyn so much of herself when younger.

“Who is she?” Ashlyn asked.

“Aisha,” said Aiden with a sad sigh. “At eleven years of age, when those bastards took away her soul. When they hurt her so much she turned evil.”

“Our poor, sweet Aisha...” Eowen walked to the child and hugged her. “It's okay, my darling. It's almost over now.”

“What will happen to her if I lose?” asked Ashlyn then.

“She'll disintegrate,” replied Aiden. “This is all there's left. Killing her sister, who hasn't even moved a finger to defend herself will... be the last straw.”

“I have to go back,” said Ashlyn. “I have to save her.”

“You don't have to,” said Eowen, walking over to her again. She was beautiful, blonde and light like an angel. “You've suffered enough, love. You've done your part. The Gods of the elements are willing to concede you rest.”

“You don't understand,” said Ashlyn, frowning as she looked at Aisha. “She's my sister. This is all my fault,” her eyes filled with tears, “if I had only found her sooner... she'd be okay. She was a child. I should've been there, always, that's what twins are for. To be always there, annoying you, helping you... but I wasn't there. And if she wasn't so furious at me, Devil would have nothing to feed off, just like he cannot feed off me.”

She understood everything now. Finally, she saw with open eyes, and knew what to do.

“Don't blame yourself,” said Aiden. “You're a good person. Both of you.”

“Then I must go back. I'll help her. If she regrets everything, she can still come back into the light. She's not lost.”

Aiden and Eowen smiled and nodded, hugging her one last time. Then Ashlyn woke up and groaned in deep, agonizing pain. She was back in the real world and Aisha glared at her with such fury Ashlyn could almost see the flames in her eyes as she rolled on the ground. Then, Ashlyn felt something she hadn't felt before. She saw light come from her hands and despite the pain, she felt strength in her veins, more than she had ever felt. She stood up to face Aisha, looking at her shining hands, and she understood. She had become the Master of Light. She could end Aisha now, if she so wanted.

“NO!” Aisha screamed. “You should be dead! I KILLED YOU!”

Ashlyn took a deep breath, and this time her insides didn't scream in pain.

“You almost did, yeah,” Ashlyn admitted, spitting out the blood she had been tasting. “But I told you. If you respect the elements, they will respect you.”

Aisha's eyes turned black as her anger levels raised and suddenly she threw a burning stream of lava towards Ashlyn, who raised her hands in self defence, and a stream of blue lava she had never made before formed a wall in front of her to protect her, but not throwing itself on Aisha. Both lavas crashed together and disappeared at once.

“YOU'RE MINE!” Aisha roared with a voice that didn't seem hers, and the same thing happened again. Again, Ashlyn was able to protect herself.

“Let's end this nonsense, sister! I'm sorry, okay Aisha? I'm sorry,” Ashlyn said, and Aisha stopped right in the middle of her run to squash Ashlyn herself, instead stopping in her tracks and looking stupefied.

“Sorry? YOU CANNOT HURT ME!”

“But I did, didn't I? You're my sister. My twin. Little Aisha Marlow. I can only imagine the horror you went through. You stood alone, your village devastated, everyone you love burnt to ashes, all you had left dead... and you were all alone. I wasn't there. I should've been. If I had found you sooner... none of this would've happened. I'm sorry I didn't find you. I'm sorry I failed you,” said Ashlyn honestly, walking towards her. “I wish I had taken you with me way sooner. But there's still time. Forgive me, Aisha. Please, forgive me, and I will give you all the love of a family. We'll start over.”

Before her eyes, Aisha suddenly transformed. Seemingly, Satan had decided it was his time to intervene, and although he could not raise from the underground, he used Aisha's body to live, because the woman must've become too weak, which to Ashlyn, meant that perhaps, she was starting to gain humanity. Her hands grew into claws, and her eyes shinned devilishly, an halo of flames surrounding her as she grew a metre taller. Ashlyn stopped in her tracks, eyes widening.

“I'm done playing,” Aisha spoke with Satan's monstrous voice of the underworld. “Your time is OVER!”

A stream of black lava enveloped Ashlyn, who created a barrier of bright water around her, but she could feel her powers, even if greater, weren't going to help her long against Satan. Her energy was dying fast, and soon she wouldn't be able to do magic.

“Aisha!” Ashlyn shouted beyond the roar of flames. “FIGHT HIM! HELP ME, OR HE'LL KILL ME LIKE HE KILLED OUR FAMILY!”

Aisha-Satan roared in pain all of the sudden. A piercing scream filled the air and her head threw back, as dark shadows seemed to leave her. All around them, the dark creatures burned in blue flames and vanished, the the dark sky broke into a sunny day, burning the darkness. The flames ceased and when Ashlyn looked in front of her, she saw not Aisha, but a young blonde girl collapsed on the ground.

“Aisha!” Ashlyn ran to her and held her in her arms, kneeling on the floor. “Corey, Casey! Help!”

“I'm s-sorry...” Aisha whispered, her young face looking up at Ashlyn as she cradled her. “I didn't mean to hurt you... he had me... he wouldn't let me go... I couldn't... get rid of...”

“Sh...” Ashlyn caressed her face, kissing her forehead. “It's okay. You're going to be okay. Our cousins can help you.”

“We can't,” said Corey, who knelt next to her. “She's feeling regret, Ashlyn. She came back to the light, but...”

“It can kill you,” said Ashlyn, remembering what she had been explained. “The guilt of your actions can kill you.” Corey nodded, saddened. Ashlyn looked down at Aisha, who weakly held onto her.

“Why didn't you... kill me? He said... he said you'll... try...”

“I couldn't hurt my sister,” Ashlyn smiled small. “I'm so sorry, Aisha. I wish I could've protected you.”

“It's okay... you're here now... you're...” with a last gasp, she fell limp on her arms and Ashlyn shut her eyes close. It was all over.

**. . .**

Three weeks later, Ashlyn stood on the cliffs of Satellite Beach, staring into the ocean with her arms supported on a rock fence. She was breathing the salty air, filling her lungs with it and enjoying the calm and relaxation of the sunny day. Her wounds and bruises had healed, and Aisha's remains had been cremated in the sea, as it was traditional for Atlanteans. Now, all that was left to do was relax and enjoy life, now that they had it.

She hadn't really spoken with anyone yet about how she had defeated Satan himself, nor what she had lived with her biological parents, but she wasn't troubled by her thoughts. To Ashlyn, knowing her sister was now somewhere good with their biological parents provided her a unique sense of calmness and relaxation. She was therefore at peace now.

Hearing some steps, Ashlyn turned and saw Ali appear, grinning, with her hair thrown backwards dancing with the breeze of the ocean, and wearing a beautiful summer dress that hugged her belly just enough for a soft swell to be visible.

“There you are,” Ali grinned bigger, coming to hug her close and kiss her.

“How are you feeling?” Ashlyn asked, caressing her cheek.

“I'm fine, and the baby's fine,” said Ali, her arms hanging loosely around her hips. “Ready to go back to palace?”

“Yeah,” Ashlyn nodded, taking her hand. “With you? I'm ready to go anywhere.”

The two women smiled and intertwined their fingers, walking away together, ready for anything.

FIN.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking around with one of my all time favourite fics I've written. I have been playing around with part 2 but as I haven't finished and I'm not sure I will, I'm not going to promise to bring it, but follow me along and perhaps it'll come, who knows. I hope you enjoy, have a good week.


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